Ludhiana, June 29
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, has invited applications for awards to be given to innovative farmers of the state during the September, 2007, Kisan Mela.

Dr N.S.Malhi, director of the Extension Education, PAU, said the Dalip Singh Dhaliwal Memorial Award was one of the awards for which self-cultivating farmers of field crops in Punjab would be selected. The award carried a cash prize of Rs 5,000 along with plaque and citation.

Similarly, Parwasi Bharati Award worth cash of Rs 8,000, a plaque and a citation would be conferred on a farmer engaged in diversified farming system.

The S. Ujagar Singh Dhaliwal Memorial Award will be open to vegetable growers, who had put at least 60 per cent area of their operational holding under vegetable crops. This award comprises a cash prize of Rs 3,100, a plaque and citation.

Dr. Malhi said the application forms for these awards could be obtained from deputy directors, Krishi Vigyan Kendras; director, Regional Stations; district extension specialists, district extension coordinators, chief agriculture officers, deputy directors of Horticulture in different districts of the state and the Directorate of Extension Education, PAU.

The last date for the receipt of applications in the office of the director of Extension Education, PAU, Ludhiana, will be July 6, 2007.

Ludhiana, June 29
Experiment of appointing “in-house” registrars in various universities seem to have worked well in the region.

In most of the universities within the state and Haryana, the governments have abandoned the practice of appointing bureaucrats as registrars.

This move has been widely hailed as the system worked quite smoothly.

Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana governments had started the practice of appointing IAS or PCS officers in Punjab and HCS in Haryana. It had invariably led to a power struggle within the campus.

This was because a bureaucrat as registrar acted as a “resident officer” of the government rather than an official of the university.

Even in Punjab Agricultural University this experiment has worked well. V.K. Sharma has been there for about six years. In Haryana Agricultural University the practice of appointing “in-house” registrars has been going on for the past one decade.

Like Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Haryana Agriculture University (HAU) a professor was appointed as the registrar.

The PAU faculty has overwhelmingly been supportive of the practice. A senior professor remarked, “If a registrar happens to be from within the campus we feel free to talk to him and he is always accessible, while in case of the bureaucrats it is totally different.”

The professor said, “It is the registrar who looks after the entire administrative work in the campus.”

Another scientist said, “A bureaucrat usually watches the interest of his bosses and remains less inclined towards listening to the grievances of people within the campus”, he observed.

In most cases it has been found that the bureaucrats as registrars take vice-chancellors for granted and pursue their own agenda.

Often it has led to power struggle within the campus as bureaucrat registrars seldom acknowledge the authority of the vice-chancellor over them.

In Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjabi University, Patiala, and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in- house registrars have been functioning smoothly.

There is a widespread opinion in the PAU campus that incumbent registrar V.K. Sharma, who is to retire in September, be given extension to ensure smooth transition, since Manjit Singh Kang has taken over recently.

At the same time, the faculty and the staff feel that in case he is not granted extension the government must continue with the practice and appoint someone from the university as registrar and not a bureaucrat.

Ludhiana, June 29
Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GNIMT), Gujarkhan Campus, Model Town, held a counselling for BBA and BCA classes for the 2007 batch here today.

As many as 100 candidates applied for admission to each of BBA/BCA courses.

Students from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Chandigarh thronged the campus for counselling. Most of the candidates were accompanied by their parents.

The parents were addressed by Dr H.S.Singha, director, who emphasised that this was a crucial period in the life of the students and parents’/teachers’ cooperation was very essential for complete development of the students’ personality during this time.

A detailed letter containing the expectations of the institute from the parents as also the parents’ expectations from the institute was issued to the parents of every admitted student.

Similar response was also witnessed for the MBA/MCA management quota seats and as many as 400 students, who had not taken any entrance test and 1200 students who had cleared MAT conducted by All India Management Association in February and May this year, opted for GNIMT as one of their choices for doing MBA.

Ludhiana, June 29
A philanthropist never retires. This holds true for a few retired faculty members of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, who are working for not-so-fortunate ones.

The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, is one such initiative where a large number of retired faculty member strive hard to improve the standard of education in the rural sector.

Explaining the objective of Akal Academies established by the trust, K.S.Sekhon, coordinator (science) and former dean, postgraduate studies, Punjab Agriculural University, said urban and rural education were quiet different.

The educational facilities were woefully imbalanced against the rural sector and the Kalgidhar Trust had taken up the responsibility of filling this gap, he added.

The academies are managed by former PAU vice-chancellor Khem Singh Gill. Former director (Agriculture), Himachal Pradesh, Iqbal Singh, is also involved in this onerous task.

The trust had taken in hand the ambitious project of establishing 125 such academies, at least one in each block of the state in the near future. Rs 875 crore would be spent on this expansion plan.

According to Gill, even the Chief Minister was keen to get academies established and had assured every possible help. Rs 7 crore was required, in addition to land, for establishing a single academy.

Panchayats and individuals were coming forward to donate their lands for opening Akal Academies in their villages, he said.

All academies are affiliated to the CBSE and computer education is an integral part of the curriculum from Class I onwards.

A total of 1215 students from different parts of Punjab appeared in the VET 2007, held on June 22.