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lucky 5 Tennessee is the new No. 1 in men’s college basketball after a massive shakeup in the AP Top 25. The Vols received 58 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel Monday to reach No. 1 for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Tennessee climbed two spots from last week after Kansas lost twice and Auburn fell to No. 4 Duke. The Tigers remained No. 2 and received three first-place votes. No. 3 Iowa State had one first-place vote and climbed three places from last week for its highest ranking since 1956-57. Kentucky rounded out the top five. In all, 14 ranked teams lost last week, including six teams in the top 10; Kansas and then-No. 11 Wisconsin lost twice. Only two teams — Auburn and No. 12 Oregon — remained in the same poll spots they were a week ago, and the volatility saw five teams jump into the rankings. Tennessee (8-0) is off to its best start since opening the 2000-01 season 9-0 and is No. 1 in the NET rankings. The Vols also are second in the KenPom ratings, ranking second in defensive efficiency and ninth in offensive efficiency despite losing four starters from last year’s SEC championship team. Tennessee beat Syracuse 96-70 in its only game last week. Kansas had been No. 1 since the preseason poll before losing to 76-63 to Creighton and 76-67 to rival Missouri. The losses dropped the Jayhawks to No. 10. Auburn was poised to move into the No. 1 spot for the first time since 2021-22 but lost 84-78 at Duke before beating Richmond. Iowa State had its highest preseason ranking at No. 5 after reaching the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 a year ago. The Cyclones lost by two to Auburn in the Maui Invitational but have reeled off four straight wins since. Iowa State blew out Jackson State 100-58 in its only game last week before facing rival Iowa this week. Huskies rebound Two-time reigning national champion UConn nearly dropped out of the poll last week following a 0-for-3 run in Maui. The Huskies bounced back nicely last week, picking up impressive wins over Baylor and Texas to move up seven spots in this week’s poll to No. 18. “Maybe the people with the shovels and the dirt, maybe they were too quick to grab the shovel and throw the dirt on us,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. Rising and falling Oklahoma had the biggest jump within this week’s poll, climbing eight spots to No. 13 after beating Georgia Tech and Alcorn State. Duke and No. 17 Texas A&M each moved up five spots. Kansas had the biggest drop, followed by No. 20 Wisconsin, which fell nine spots. No. 22 Cincinnati dropped eight places. In and out Multiple teams moved in and out of this week’s poll. No. 14 Michigan is ranked for the first time in nearly three years after tight wins over Wisconsin and Iowa. The Wolverines have won seven straight under first-year coach Dusty May. No. 16 Clemson is ranked for the first time this season following wins over Kentucky and Miami. No. 21 Michigan State also is ranked for the first time after wins over Nebraska and Minnesota. No. 24 UCLA is ranked for the first time since the preseason poll following wins over Washington and Oregon. No. 25 Mississippi State is back in the poll after blowing out Pittsburgh 90-57 and beating Prairie View A&M. Baylor, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Illinois and North Carolina all dropped out of the rankings. Conference watch The SEC led all conferences with nine ranked teams, followed by the Big Ten with six and the Big 12 with four. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East each had two ranked teams, while the West Coast and Mountain West conferences each had one.Suspect in the UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Killing Struggles, Shouts Entering Courthouse

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Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trollingWASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Andrew Ferguson as the next chair of the Federal Trade Commission . He will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars' worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior . Ferguson is already one of the FTC's five commissioners, which is currently made up of three Democrats and two Republicans. “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.” The replacement of Khan likely means that the FTC will operate with a lighter touch when it comes to antitrust enforcement. The new chair is expected to appoint new directors of the FTC's antitrust and consumer protection divisions. “These changes likely will make the FTC more favorable to business than it has been in recent years, though the extent to which is to be determined,” wrote Anthony DiResta, a consumer protection attorney at Holland & Knight, in a recent analysis . Deals that were blocked by the Biden administration could find new life with Trump in command. For example, the new leadership could be more open to a proposed merger between the country’s two biggest supermarket chains, Kroger and Albertsons, which forged a $24.6 billion deal to combine in 2022. Two judges halted the merger Tuesday night. The FTC had filed a lawsuit in federal court earlier this year to block the merger, claiming the deal would eliminate competition, leading to higher prices and lower wages for workers. The two companies say a merger would help them lower prices and compete against bigger rivals like Walmart. One of the judges said the FTC had shown it was likely to prevail in the administrative hearing. Yet given the widespread public concern over high grocery prices, the Trump administration may not fully abandon the FTC's efforts to block the deal, some experts have said. And the FTC may continue to scrutinize Big Tech firms for any anticompetitive behavior. Many Republican politicians have accused firms such as Meta of censoring conservative views, and some officials in Trump's orbit, most notably Vice President-elect JD Vance, have previously expressed support for Khan's scrutiny of Big Tech firms. In addition to Fergson, Trump also announced Tuesday that he had selected Jacob Helberg as the next undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.No. 15 Iowa St. 75, Middle Tennessee 59

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WASHINGTON >> President-elect Donald Trump said today that any person or company investing at least $1 billion into the U.S. “will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals.” The statement, posted on his social media platform Truth Social, did not offer further details. Trump’s transition team is working on a package to roll out within days of his taking office on Jan. 20 to approve export permits for liquefied natural gas projects and to increase oil drilling on federal lands and off the U.S. coast, sources familiar have said. It was not immediately clear how Trump could work around independent commissions such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has recently required additional environmental reviews for LNG projects. The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump, a Republican, also plans to repeal some aspects of Democratic President Joe Biden’s regulations and top climate legislation, such as tax credits for electric vehicles and new clean power plant standards that aim to phase out coal and natural gas.

Theresa Katalinas wrote a new postLebawit Lily Girma | (TNS) Bloomberg News When winter rolls around, travelers predictably turn their attention to beaches. And this year, it’s the destination that comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called “a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean” that’s experiencing outsize demand from Americans planning a warm island vacation. Talk about trashing stereotypes. Related Articles Would you pay $700 a night to sleep under the stars at this Colorado resort? Thailand’s starring role in ‘The White Lotus’ is about to pay off 5 under-the-radar travel destinations the UN says you should visit Gift ideas for people planning their next trip Lights and decor, réveillon meals make Christmastime special in New Orleans Puerto Rico has recovered overseas visitors (excluding those from Canada and Mexico) faster than any U.S. state or territory — a staggering 85% increase over its 2019 overseas inbound visitor levels as of 2023, according to an October study from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office. There are now more daily flights from the U.S. West Coast, and hotel bookings are 6% higher so far in this last quarter of 2024 year-over-year. It’s a trifecta of tourism growth: more visitors, but also longer stays and a higher spend that reached a record $9.8 billion in 2023, boosting small businesses as well as major brands. “We don’t have a slow season in Puerto Rico anymore,” says Brad Dean, chief executive officer at Discover Puerto Rico. Even if they’re not booking, people are dreaming about “La Isla.” By tracking flight searches for trips between November 2024 and February 2025, a measure of “inspirational” demand, tourism intelligence company Mabrian Technologies reports Puerto Rico is up 9% compared with the same period last year and leads Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Bahamas in the Caribbean proper. Only Costa Rica ranked higher in the wider region. Dean attributes Puerto Rico’s ongoing tourism growth to a strategic effort to reposition the island’s brand as more than a sun-and-sea destination, starting back in 2018. That led to the Live Boricua campaign, which began in 2022 and leaned heavily on culture, history and cuisine and was, Dean says, “a pretty bold departure” in the way Puerto Rico was showcased to travelers. He adds that at least $2 billion in tourism spend is linked to this campaign. “We (also) haven’t shied away from actively embracing the LGBTQ+ community, and that has opened up Puerto Rico to audiences that may not have considered the Caribbean before,” Dean says. Hotels are preparing to meet this growing demand: A number of established boutique properties are undergoing upgrades valued between $4 million and more than $50 million, including Hotel El Convento; La Concha, which will join the Marriott Autograph Collection; Condado Vanderbilt Hotel; and the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar. That’s in addition to ultra-chic options that are coming online in 2025, including the adults-only Alma San Juan, with rooms overlooking Plaza Colón in the heart of Old San Juan, and the five-star Veranó boutique hotel in San Juan’s trendy Santurce neighborhood. The beachfront Ritz-Carlton San Juan in Isla Verde will also be reopening seven years after Hurricane Maria decimated the island. The travel industry’s success is helping boost employment on the island, to the tune of 101,000 leisure and hospitality jobs as of September 2024, a 26% increase over pre-pandemic levels, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Efforts to promote Puerto Rico’s provinces beyond the San Juan metro area — such as surfing hub Rincón on the west coast, historical Ponce on the south coast and Orocovis for nature and coffee haciendas in the central mountains —have spread the demand to small businesses previously ignored by the travel industry. Take Sheila Osorio, who leads workshops on Afro-Puerto Rican bomba music and dance at Taller Nzambi, in the town of Loíza, 15 miles east of San Juan; or Wanda Otero, founder of cheese-producing company Vaca Negra in Hatillo, an hour’s drive west of Old San Juan, where you can join a cheese-making workshop and indulge in artisanal cheese tastings. “The list of businesses involved in tourism has gone from 650 in 2018 to 6,100, many of which are artists and artisans,” Dean says. While New Yorkers and Miami residents have always been the largest visitor demographic, Dean says more mainland Americans now realize that going to Puerto Rico means passport-free travel to enjoy beaches, as well as opportunities to dine in Michelin-rated restaurants, hike the only rainforest in the U.S. and kayak in a bioluminescent bay. Visitors from Chicago and Dallas, for example, have increased by approximately 40% from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, compared with the same period in 2022-2023, and more travelers are expected from Denver now that United Airlines Holdings Inc. has kicked off its first nonstop service to San Juan, beginning on Oct. 29. Previously, beach destinations that were easy to reach on direct flights from Denver included Mexico, Belize and California, but now Puerto Rico joins that list with a 5.5-hour nonstop route that cuts more than two hours from the next-best option. Given United Airlines’ hub in San Francisco, it could mean more travelers from the Golden State in the near future, too. In December, U.S. airlines will have 3,000 more seats per day to the territory compared with the same period last year, for a total of 84,731 — surpassing even Mexico and the Dominican Republic in air capacity, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, the island’s primary gateway, is projecting a record volume of 13 million passengers by year’s end — far surpassing the 9.4 million it saw in 2019. As for Hinchcliffe’s “floating island of garbage” line, Dean says it was “a terribly insensitive attempt at humor” that transformed outrage into a marketing silver lining, with an outpouring of positive public sentiment and content on Puerto Rico all over social media. Success, as that old chestnut goes, may be the best revenge. “It was probably the most efficient influencer campaign we’ve ever had,” Dean says, “a groundswell of visitors who posted their photos and videos and said, ‘This is the Puerto Rico that I know.’” ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A scruffy little fugitive is on the lam again in New Orleans, gaining fame as he outwits a tenacious band of citizens armed with night-vision binoculars, nets and a tranquilizer rifle. Scrim, a 17-pound mutt that's mostly terrier, has become a folk hero, inspiring tattoos, T-shirts and even a ballad as he eludes capture from the posse of volunteers. And like any antihero, Scrim has a backstory: Rescued from semi-feral life at a trailer park and adopted from a shelter, the dog broke loose in April and scurried around the city until he was cornered in October and brought to a new home. Weeks later, he'd had enough. Scrim leaped out of a second-story window, a desperate act recorded in a now-viral video. Since then, despite a stream of daily sightings, he's roamed free. The dog’s fans include Myra and Steve Foster, who wrote “Ode to Scrim” to the tune of Ricky Nelson’s 1961 hit, “I’m a Travelin’ Man.” Leading the recapture effort is Michelle Cheramie, a 55-year-old former information technology professional. She lost everything — home, car, possessions — in Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and in the aftermath, found her calling rescuing pets. “I was like, ‘This is what I should be doing,’” Cheramie said. “I was born to rescue.” She launched Zeus’ Rescues, a nonprofit shelter that now averages 600 cat and dog adoptions a year and offers free pet food to anyone who needs it. She helped Scrim find the home he first escaped from. It was Cheramie's window Scrim leaped from in November. She's resumed her relentless mission since then, posting flyers on telephone poles and logging social media updates on his reported whereabouts. She's invested thousands of dollars on wildlife cameras, thermal sensors and other gear. She took a course offered by the San Diego Zoo on the finer points of tranquilizing animals. And she's developed a network of volunteers — the kind of neighbors who are willing to grid-search a city at 3 a.m. People like writer David W. Brown, who manages a crowd-sourced Google Map of all known Scrim sightings. He says the search has galvanized residents from all walks of life to come together. As they search for Scrim, they hand out supplies to people in need. “Being a member of the community is seeing problems and doing what you can to make life a little better for the people around here and the animals around you,” Brown said. And neighbors like Tammy Murray, who had to close her furniture store and lost her father to Parkinson's disease. This search, she says, got her mojo back. “Literally, for months, I’ve done nothing but hunt this dog,” said Murray, 53. “I feel like Wile E. Coyote on a daily basis with him.” Murray drives the Zeus' Rescues' van towards reported Scrim sightings. She also handles a tactical net launcher, which looks like an oversized flashlight and once misfired, shattering the van's window as Scrim sped away. After realizing Scrim had come to recognize the sound of the van's diesel engine, Murray switched to a Vespa scooter, for stealth. Near-misses have been tantalizing. The search party spotted Scrim napping beneath an elevated house, and wrapped construction netting around the perimeter, but an over-eager volunteer broke ranks and dashed forward, leaving an opening Scrim slipped through. Scrim's repeated escapades have prompted near-daily local media coverage and a devoted online following. Cheramie can relate. “We’re all running from something or to something. He's doing that too,” she said. Cheramie's team dreams of placing the pooch in a safe and loving environment. But a social media chorus growing under the hashtag #FreeScrim has other ideas — they say the runaway should be allowed a life of self-determination. The animal rescue volunteers consider that misguided. “The streets of New Orleans are not the place for a dog to be free,” Cheramie said. “It’s too dangerous.” Scrim was a mess when Cheramie briefly recaptured him in October, with matted fur, missing teeth and a tattered ear. His trembling body was scraped and bruised, and punctured by multiple projectiles. A vet removed one, but decided against operating to take out a possible bullet. The dog initially appeared content indoors, sitting in Cheramie's lap or napping beside her bed. Then while she was out one day, Scrim chewed through a mesh screen, dropped 13 feet to the ground and squeezed through a gap in the fence, trotting away. Murray said Cheramie's four cats probably spooked him. “I wholeheartedly believe the gangster-ass cats were messing with him,” Murray said. Cheramie thinks they may have gotten territorial. Devastated but undeterred, the pair is reassessing where Scrim might fit best — maybe a secure animal sanctuary with big outdoor spaces where other dogs can keep him company. Somewhere, Murray says, “where he can just breathe and be.” Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96A 26-year-old man was arrested Monday over the targeted killing of a health insurance executive on the streets of New York, with police crediting a McDonald's employee in Pennsylvania who spotted a suspicious-looking customer. Investigators were interrogating Luigi Mangione in connection with last week's brazen murder, which triggered a nationwide manhunt and global headlines. Mangione was being held by officers in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after being found with what police called a "ghost gun" capable of firing 9MM rounds and equipped with a suppressor that could have been made on a 3D printer. The man was identified in the fast-food restaurant in Altoona town some 300 miles (500 kilometers) west of New York, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. He had fake IDs, like those used by the killer, including one used to check in to a Manhattan hostel ahead of the attack, and a document that spoke to Mangione's "motivation and mindset," she said. Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, studied at the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania, and had been living in Hawaii ahead of the killing. "He matches the description of the identification we've been looking for. He's also in possession of several items that we believe will connect him to this incident," said New York mayor Eric Adams. Police told reporters that Mangione possessed material that suggested he had "ill-will towards corporate America." Mangione's LinkedIn profile showed he worked as a data engineer at TrueCar, a California-based online auto marketplace that said he left their employment in 2023. He was due to be arraigned on gun charges in Pennsylvania at 6:00 pm (2300 GMT) Monday, US media reported. In last Wednesday's shooting, the gunman walked up behind Brian Thompson, a senior executive at UnitedHealthcare -- one of the country's largest medical insurers -- and shot him dead in front of bystanders. The attack was captured by a surveillance camera and the footage seen by millions around the world as interest in the manhunt and mystery over the killer's motives built to a frenzy. Thompson, 50, was attending an investor conference in the Midtown business district. Detectives said the suspect fled the crime scene on foot before riding a bike to Central Park and later boarding a bus from a terminal in the north of the city connecting New York to surrounding states and beyond. Police have not confirmed media reports that the words "delay" and "deny" -- language often used by insurance companies to reject claims -- were written on shell casings found at the scene. Video footage shows Thompson on the sidewalk outside the New York Hilton Midtown when a man in a hooded top, his lower face covered, approaches from behind and fires several shots at the father-of-two, who crumples to the ground. An image released of the suspect was obtained from a youth hostel where the gunman apparently stayed before the hit, with media reporting he had lowered his mask to flirt with a receptionist. A photo on what appeared to be one of Mangione's social media accounts includes an X-ray of an apparently injured spine, though no explicit political affiliation has emerged. The highly profitable US medical insurance system is the source of deep frustration and anger among many Americans due to its steep costs and limited coverage, and Thompson's death was greeted with an absence of sympathy by some. A Facebook post mourning his loss, shared by UnitedHealth Group, racked up more than 71,000 laugh emojis within two days before the counter was disabled. Mangione must now be extradited from Pennsylvania to New York to face murder charges, police said. gw/bjtNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Three African politicians seeking to head the African Union detailed their plans on Friday for regional security amid conflicts and political coups while strongly advocating for inter-Africa trade among other issues. Raila Odinga of Kenya, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti and Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar are seeking to be elected as chairperson for the 55-member state African Union. They participated in a two-hour debate Friday in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in which they all advocated for two permanent seats for African countries in the U.N. Security Council to effectively represent the continent with the youngest population. Odinga said that two permanent seats with veto power were “a must for Africa” and that this was “only fair” since the continent has more than 50 countries. Randriamandrato urged member states to cease the opportunity and “speak with one voice on the choice of who will represent Africa in the UNSC.” The three are seeking to convince most African countries before the February election to succeed African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki, who has served for two terms. The African Union has faced several challenges that include conflict in member countries and political coups that have seen five member states expelled from the union, making regional security a major theme in Friday’s debate. Over 50 countries go to the polls in 2024 The year will test even the most robust democracies. Read more on what’s to come here . Take a look at the 25 places where a change in leadership could resonate around the world. Keep track of the latest AP elections coverage from around the world here. Youssouf said that regional security could be enhanced if the resources for a regional standby force were increased to reduce the overreliance on foreign partnerships for resources. “When there is no unity of purpose among neighboring countries peace will be compromised,” Youseff said. Randriamandrato encouraged countries to take charge of their internal security while cautioning that foreign military bases should be “a thing of the past” because they “could be a source of conflict.” Despite the continent’s young population of 1.3 billion that is set to double by 2050, regional trade has faced challenges that were addressed in the Friday debate. Odinga said that Africa had a “huge domestic market” that it could leverage on for economic transformation by opening up opportunities for trade between African countries. Youssouf proposed a payment compensation system that would ensure countries don’t lose out while trading in different currencies adding, “are we going to have a single currency, why not?” Randriamandrato said that regional economic blocs like the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa had a huge role to play in easing inter-Africa trade. The African Union has several proposed reforms on its structure and leadership aimed at achieving its purpose, and all candidates promised to implement the reforms if elected. Youssouf said that key reforms in the union were facing a funding bottleneck and that “it has to change,” adding that he wouldn’t impose it on member states but would “advocate for it.”

For travelers, Puerto Rico is a floating island of desirabilityTrump names Andrew Ferguson as head of Federal Trade Commission to replace Lina KhanHerculean task: If students do not have a bank account to receive welfare assistance, schools are required to open a post office account for them. Without the Aadhaar or other documents of identity, opening a post office account is impossible. | Photo Credit: C. VENKATACHALAPATHY Teachers have been asking R. Mikkel, a Class V student of a government school in Chennai, to get an Aadhaar card for the past four years. It would help him complete his admission formalities and open a bank account to receive scholarships that the Tamil Nadu government offers. However, Mikkel does not have a birth certificate, which is mandatory for getting an Aadhaar card. Mikkel’s parents are daily wage labourers from Bihar who do odd jobs in Chennai. “We have asked the parents to get the birth certificate from Bihar so that we can get an Aadhaar ready for him. It would help to complete his admission process. This would show him to be a student of the school, allowing him to further his education,” says Mikkel’s teacher. But his parents are reluctant to go home and finish the formalities. “It will mean losing my salary. The salary helps us sustain our lives. How can we skip work to get a document? Who will pay us?” says Ram S., Mikkel’s father. Mikkel’s story is not an isolated one. With no Aadhaar card or other identity documents, teachers are having hard time enrolling children of migrant workers in government schools. In 2019, the School Education Department mandated that every student’s Aadhaar number be linked to the Educational Management Information System (EMIS). Although admitting a student under the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009 does not require certificates, the EMIS requires schools to upload documents such as Aadhaar, community certificate, nativity certificate, and birth certificate, besides maintaining attendance and the prizes won in the Kalaithiruvizha competitions. A completed profile means that a student is successfully enrolled. “But most students do not have Aadhaar cards and some don’t have birth certificates either. This means we can’t complete the admission formalities. We get four or more calls a day from the department asking us to enter the Aadhaar details,” says a teacher of a government school in Mogappair, Chennai. The case of the twins A 12-year-old girl turns to Vaishnavi S., pointing to a Tamil word in her notebook and asking her to help pronounce it. “That’s Ooru [place],” replies Vaishnavi, a Class IV student of a government school in Chennai. Vaishnavi and Bhavani, both aged 12, are twins. Their father has been trying to get Aadhaar cards for both of them for three years now, but the problem is that the twins do not have birth certificates. Though their father’s family members have been living in Chennai for years, their mother moved to the city from Uttar Pradesh after marriage. So, she went back to her parents’ home in Uttar Pradesh for delivery. “We didn’t get a birth certificate. So, when the school told us that an Aadhaar card was required for the children to complete admission, we knew we had to visit our village. This we can’t do because my husband cannot leave his daily wage job as painter,” says their mother Rindha Devi. So the school gave them a bonafide certificate stating that the students were residents of Tamil Nadu and studying in the school. Their father was expected to take leave later and get the Aadhaar cards for them. “Earlier this year, the application went through. But only Vaishnavi got her Aadhaar card. Bhavani didn’t. The officials suspected that we were creating a duplicate Aadhaar because most of the details were the same and they had identical faces. So Bhavani does not have a card. They are no longer accepting a bonafide certificates either. We are tired of running from pillar to post,” Ms. Rindha Devi says. In June this year, the department started the Aadhaar through Schools initiative to ensure that every child in the school system gets the Aadhaar card and opens a bank account linked to the former. However, most children of migrant workers could not do so owing to various reasons — missing documents, no digital copy of birth certificates, different addresses, and wrong pincodes. Linkage crucial A bank account is crucial for students to receive welfare benefits — be it the ₹500 given to students of Most Backward Classes and Denotified Communities from Class III or the ₹1,000 given a month to a higher secondary student under the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Talent Search Exam. However, it is mandatory to link the bank account with the Aadhaar. “My child, Umang, was born at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. Through the initiative, we decided to get the Aadhaar card for Umang. The official denied us an Aadhaar card because my child’s name was written in Hindi in the birth certificate. All other details on the birth certificate were in English except his name. He asked me to get the card from my village,” says Sonam Pandey, mother of the Class III student. Deepak Guhain from Assam has been working in Chennai for the past two years. He has been trying to get an Aadhaar card for his son, but officials insisted on a digital copy of the birth certificate. “I cannot afford to miss work to go back to Assam to get it. I don’t know what to do,” he says. Teachers in trouble “We tried counselling the parents and consistent follow-up to ensure that every student completed the formalities; but, as they are daily wage labourers, it is difficult. If they were born here, we would help,” says a teacher of the government school at Mogappair. Teachers say they would give a bonafide certificate so that a child could pursue further education. “But this certificate cannot be used any more. The formalities [such as uploading of Aadhaar] should be completed as proof of student strength of a school. We have over 20 children of migrant workers in our school, but we cannot provide proof of enrolment on the EMIS. This would prompt the department to assume that we have poor student strength and our teachers can be moved out,” says a teacher of a government school at Shenoy Nagar, Chennai. When the child enters Class X, the teacher has to follow up continuously to ensure that they can sit for the exam. In 2018, the Supreme Court directed that the Aadhaar could not be made mandatory for writing exams or enrolment. However, teachers say this has not been the case in Tamil Nadu. While no student has been denied the welfare benefits, education, or their right to sit for exams, the road leading to all of them has been anything but smooth. “In a primary school, the teacher might have just marked zero in the Aadhaar card field to make a valid entry into the EMIS. A student automatically makes it to Class X. Then the real task begins. Last year, a teacher travelled with some students to their birthplace to get the birth certificates and then made sure that they got their Aadhaar cards. Only then were the students able to write the exam,” says a teacher of a government school at Puzhal, Chennai. S. Rakesh, a migrant labour from Bihar, has settled at Periyar Pudur in Salem. He says, “With the help of house owners, we were able to get the LPG cylinder bill. Using it, we are changing our address in Aadhaar and it is also used for our children to get Aadhaar cards,” he says. Casual labourers entering the State find it tough to get the Aadhaar cards for their children to get admission in a primary school. “They do not have proof of address because they stay in small houses provided in the factory. As they are new to work, the owners do not help them either,” adds Mr. Rakesh. A task for schools “The schools can compile the list of students who don’t have the documents and take it up with the Collector and the Revenue Department to ensure that they get their Aadhaar cards. We are ensuring that school students have their Aadhaar cards linked to the EMIS because it would help them get scholarships in Class VI and IX. We have covered 30 lakh children so far and hope to complete the process by January,” says a senior official of the School Education Department. Subulakshmi, a field worker of Social Awareness and Voluntary Education (SAVE), a non-governmental organisation in Tiruppur, visits 75 children of migrant workers at Koilvazhi in Tiruppur district almost every day. Their parents are employed with the Tiruppur Corporation. They are all from the areas along the Karnataka-Maharashtra border. “The elders go to work early in the morning and return home by 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. They cannot take a day off or skip work to get an Aadhaar card for the children,” says Ms. Subulakshmi. SAVE founder A. Aloysius says parents lack awareness of the need for Aadhaar to register the children at school. “They will have the card, but will not share the details; they may have left the cards at home; they will not even remember whether they have secured the Aadhaar card for a child; they will not have proper identity papers to get it here. There is a sense of fear and uncertainty among them always,” he says. “So, these children remain excluded from the education system.” A universal problem Getting an Aadhaar card is difficult not only for children of migrant workers but also for some local residents and nomadic tribes. A government higher secondary school teacher at Nagapattinam says, “We receive children from the Adhiyan community, known as Boom Boom Mattukarar. As they do not have community certificates, they could not access education and jobs. As their families move from one district to another to sell toys and bangles, they take their children along. When they attempt to admit their children to a government school, it becomes impossible because they lack the Aadhaar, birth, caste, and nativity certificates.” If students do not have a bank account, the EMIS requires the school to open a post office account for them. Without the Aadhaar or other documents of identity, opening a post office account is impossible. A minimum deposit of ₹200 is required too. “If it is for one child, it’s manageable. But how many children can I support,” asks the headmaster of a school in a Cauvery delta district. A teacher from Karur helped a student from the Kallodar community to enrol. This community is largely engaged in rock-cutting. Since the student’s parents did not have a mobile phone, she gave her own number for Aadhaar verification. (With inputs from M. Soundariya Preetha from Coimbatore, M. Sabari from Salem and Nacchinarkkiniyan M. from Tiruchi.) Published - December 01, 2024 12:06 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" Thanks for your interest in Kalkine Media's content! To continue reading, please log in to your account or create your free account with us.

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