Ludhiana, March 21
The colleges as well as the hostels in the city are giving a deserted look these days with the starting of preparatory holidays.

Gone are the days when students used to "lock" themselves in a room to study for hours during examinations or would go to libraries for consulting books in a peaceful environment.

In recent times, the trend of study has changed to an extent that young students study in groups not at anybody's place but in cafeterias!

Cafeterias on Pakhowal Road, Kitchlu Nagar, Sarabha Nagar are seen with young boys and girls who come in groups to study for hours there.

A number of students, Ludhiana Tribune spoke to, said that cafeterias provided them a relaxed atmosphere and helped them fighting exam-related stress.

Ishita, a BA III student of Government College for Women said that she could prepare well for exams if she studied with her friends.

With a group of five more friends, Ishita prefers to go to cafeteria in Sarabha Nagar. "We study for almost four hours a day there and order light snacks in between", she added.

"Our exams are starting in the first week of April. I can not sit for hours and concentrate on studies alone. We are very close knit friends, who help each other. We discuss various points, exchange our notes. We, being the daily customers, are given proper care and separate cabin by the owner", she said.

Another Law student Sahil Mehta said he alongwith his few friends go to cafeterias to study as his young siblings often disturbed him at home.

"But people always look at us with curiosity and suspicion. They feel as if we go there on a date. Time has changed and I feel people should also change their thinking," said Sahil.

To relieve themselves from examination stress, many college going students have also joined meditation and yoga classes.

Aditi Wadhva, a BA student, said students suffered from anxiety during examinations. "We need to be relaxed only then we can get better percentage. I have joined Art of Living course where I do Pranayam and meditation for stress-busting," she said.

Patiala, March 21
A majority of faculty members of the local Government Ayurvedic College have been involved in legal cases since long. Studies in the college have been badly hit and the staff fearing that it might close down in the near future.

In the absence of a seniority list, several junior teachers have allegedly been promoted, ignoring their senior colleagues. This has led to senior teachers moving the court.

A teacher, who joined the college in 1997 as lecturer, was promoted professor in 2003. On the other hand, the teachers, who have been on the rolls since 1978, are still awaiting the seniority list.

Following a meeting with the affected teachers, the joint secretary had prepared a detailed note and finalised a seniority list last year. Despite the government assurance to the teachers, a junior staff member was appointed principal.

A faculty member says, “There was a political reason and manipulation behind the appointment of the principal, who is much junior to a number of teachers.”

Neither the department nor the government has taken any notice of the complaints by the affected teachers. Now, the seniority list can be prepared once all pending cases of promotions are decided by the court, he adds.

Another problem the college staff faces is anomalies in pay scales. Ayurvedic Medical Officer is getting higher scale than that given to teachers, who are higher in terms of qualification and experience.

Moreover, of the 62 sanctioned teaching posts, 42 are lying vacant. Important clinical departments like ENT, gynaecology, surgery, paediatrics are being run by teachers of other departments.

The attached Government Ayurvedic Hospital is not provided with sufficient funds. The number of patients visiting the hospital has come down over the past few years.

“The college can be saved from closure only if the government pays heed to the problems of the faculty,” says a faculty member.

Ludhiana, March 21
ISTE students Chapter of Guru Nanak Institute of Management & Technology (GNIMT) Gujarkhan Campus organised a two-day personality development workshop for the MBA students. The resource person was Prof. Vikas Arora, a renowned motivator and trainer.

He opened the workshop declaring that there were only two types of personalities — the history creators and the history readers, the people who contribute and the people who consume, the givers and takers.

The percentage of creators, contributors and givers was only 2 per cent and the others was 98 per cent. He asked the students as to which block they would like to belong.

The workshop started with practical tips on personality development. It was followed by a session on communication skills and the later half of the day was dedicated to the techniques and skills of group discussion.

The students were given practical tips about preparing and participation in-group discussion.

It was followed by practical session of group discussion and each and every participant took part.

The students were guided to perform well by their own assessment and criticism.

On the second day, the emphasis was laid on self-confidence, desire to succeed, passion and enthusiasm. After answering all the queries of the students about the interview techniques, Prof. Vikas Arora guided the students on how to conduct themselves during the interview. The mock interview was also held in which every student participated.

Dr. (Col.) H.S.Singha, Director of the institute, thanked Arora for sparing his valuable time and guiding the students.

The college also bagged overall Trophy at 'Crescendo-2007', a two-day inter-college festival held at GGNIMT recently. GNIMTian's have won this trophy consecutively for the fourth time.

The students participated in all the events of cultural, technical, literary and fine arts categories.

Bhangra team that stood first like previous year gave a scintillating performance. Anand Vohra bagged first prize by perfectly enacting Ehsaan Qureshi - the famous comedian-in Mock Press Conference.

Aditya Aggarwal set the floor on fire in Dance to the Tune and won first position. Dr. Singha, Director, GNIMT, congratulated the students for their excellent performances. He expressed satisfaction and appreciated the efforts put in by the faculty in preparing various items.

Ludhiana, March 21
St. Xavier Playway School held its annual function on the school premises today. The outgoing batch of children presented a colourful programme that included Haryanvi dance ‘Bajra’, song on national integration ‘Des Rangeela’, group dance, ‘Jhalak Dhiklaja’, Punjabi dance ‘Poch Poch Paggan’ etc. A wonderful dance performance 'Chandu ke Chacha’ was presented by Hitakshi.

Twenty-five children participated in the fancy dress competition posing as butterfly, tiger, rabbit, Krrish, policeman, Subhash Chander Bose, doctor, pandit ji, army man, Lord Krishna, joker, radish, traffic light, tomato, chacha Nehru, parrot, Anarkali, etc.

Later all participating kids were awarded prizes by Dr J.L. Bassi, Prof and Head, Department of Orthopaedics, DMCH.

Ludhiana, March 21
Rashtriya Bal Vidya Mandir's Manvi Chitkara of Class V topped, while Nancy Verma obtained the third position in the annual examination conducted by the S.C.E.R.T., Punjab.

Seventy-three students of Class V from this school had appeared for this examination. All students came out successful obtaining 100 per cent result. The school has been showing 100 per cent results for the last three years.

Ludhiana, March 21
Guru Angad Dev Educational and Welfare Council (Regd.) celebrated its third Annual Day at Shahid Baj Singh Public School at Tajpur Road, Ludhiana, two days ago Mehar Singh from London, who is the chief patron, and Er. Mohinder Singh from Mohali told the gathering about the progress being made by this organisation for the spread of education and other welfare work. — OC