 |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
Dua sees bright future for the country
Chandigarh, October 6 Presiding over the oration as the key speaker, Mr Dua apprised the audience about the “State of the Nation” bringing into perspective the strides made by the nation in the field of agriculture, economy, defence preparedness and the challenges faced by it. He expressed his optimism in securing a bright future for the country. Not only the standard of living in India has improved but significant development has been witnessed in other areas as well, he added. Citing various examples, he highlighted that with the opening of new schools and colleges the number of children going to schools had increased which would result in educated manpower. Expressing great concern over the problems currently faced by the country, Mr Dua said a lot still needed to be achieved to ensure a secure future for the country. He further delved on issues like population explosion, corruption, Naxalism and criminalisation of politics. The number of unemployed youth in the country has increased manifold leading to a rise in other problems. “The problems of unemployment and caste wars are more acute in certain states and no efforts are being made by any political leader to bridge caste divide,” said Mr Dua. Corruption in all its forms should be curbed and those occupying positions of power and authority should not be allowed to yield it on others. Drawing the attention of the audience on the criminalisation of politics, he cited the examples of various states where lawbreakers had secured positions as lawmaker. He suggested that the nexus between the politicians and the criminals should be tackled at the earliest so that the political system might be reformed. He then called upon the audience to make efforts to ensure a better system of governance. During the oration, Mr Dua also answered the various questions from the audience. Answering to one of the queries, he said journalism has helped in sharpening the awareness level of the people and the public should themselves initiate the changing process. Among others present at the oration were Prof H. M. Swami, Director Principal, GMCH, Sector 32, Prof Atul Sachdev, president, Faculty Welfare Body, and Dr Ravi Gupta, general secretary.
|
|
PU history teachers boycott internal exams
Chandigarh, October 6 The faculty is arguing that firstly, the decision was not discussed or informed to them and secondly, if they are supposed to be biased when they don’t even know whose answer sheet it is then how come they won’t be biased when they take internal examinations, when they will know the students by face. “The fact that we can take the internal exams defeats the purpose on the ground on which the board decision has been taken, and it just goes to prove that their decision is biased,” stated a teacher. According to a press note issued by the faculty of the department, teachers say that they are upset that the students have to suffer but they had informed the Vice-Chancellor and chairperson of the department on August 2 of their decision on not to give the exams. However, after intervention of the VC, a meeting was held on September 28, wherein the chairperson assured that the PG decision would be revoked and an emergency meeting would be held to revoke their earlier decision. It was thus decided that the internal exams would be held from October 6-October 11. However, as no action was taken, the faculty today boycotted the exam. The internal assessment carries 20 marks, which is added up to the final marks. The department of history is the only department where the internal assessment exams have yet to be conducted.
|
|
Waging battle for education
Mohali, October 6 In the town today to chair the 3-day annual conference of directors of the Army colleges in India being organised by the Army Institute of Law, Mohali, Mr Singh said the institutes being run by the AWES were some of the best in the country. “The AWES was formed in 1984. What started as a small need-based effort with just about 20 schools with 20000 students in 1987, we now have 117 schools and 1.4 lakh students. More than 40000 students are migrating from one school to another through the year and the purpose for which these schools were set up has been achieved,” he said. With family stations increasing in the late 70s, it was realised that mid-session movement of children due to regular transfers of Army men wreaked havoc on children’s education. “The only way to solve this growing problem was to start our own schools and to ensure that shifting from one such school to another did not hamper the child’s education. All Army schools, as a result, follow the same syllabus, teach the same books and follow a strict day-to-day schedule which is uniform across the country. So if a student shifts from an Army school in one station to another, he would find the same chapter being taught,” he explained. Soon enough the AWES also felt the need for professional colleges for children of Armymen. “The first, the Army Institute of Technology opened in Pune in 1994. Since then we went on to open B. Ed colleges, a dental college, hotel management institutes, a law college here in Mohali. The latest to be open is a nursing college in Jalandhar and the “Our experience with students in professional colleges and school has been remarkable. We have managed to achieve what we aimed for our students: To build the character of our students. We believe they should be good citizens first and professionals later. But then both these qualities best go together,” he said. Stating that students of their colleges tend to stand out, Mr Manmohan Singh pointed out that their students were coveted by companies. “They are disciplined and very adaptable. Remember they have been interacting with people from across the country since their childhood and they have no problem in adjusting to any given situation,” he said.
|
|
|
Red-letter day for slum kids
Chandigarh, October 6 These 40-odd slum children, selected from Bapu Dham Colony from the poorest of the poor families by the school authorities for “adoption”, yesterday, turned a new leaf as they took their first-ever lesson in a colourful classroom amidst a lot of cheering and applause. It was their day at the school and being treated like royalty was all a part of the itirenary. Clad in new uniforms and armed with their bags and books also provided by the school free of cost, they took their first reluctant steps into the classroom after a yagna. Once inside the teachers and principal, Ms Madhu Bahl, struck an instant rapport with them, made them feel at home and set the ball rolling. Launched as a part of the social commitment of the school, Ms Bahl said that the initiative was her way of giving back to society. “We have so many students studying in our school. We can certainly arrange to fund the studies of a few students who are not privileged enough to attend school. It is the least we can do. Though I had been contemplating the launch of this project for quite some time, it took final shape in these Navratras only. I am glad since the classes have begun in the Navratras,” she maintains. The children, aged between 3 and four years, were selected after a month-long survey in the colony to identify the poorest families. The school intends to fund their entire education tell Class XII and will teach the same curriculum as that of the regular school. And today the day that would change the lives of these kids forever at least hopefully so finally arrived. Little Sanu, whose father is a labourer, came to school with the preconceived notion that schools are all about having a “jolly good time”. “We will get sweets, play and study. I’m looking forward to that,” she says. Gauri Shankar has never seen a school before. He is bowled over by the impressive building and has already skimmed through his books, displaying an eagerness to learn. “My siblings were going to school but my parents could not afford to let me join the bandwagon. So I studied at home but longed a school to call my own. It’s true that good things come to those who wait,” he says. Puja, another student at Ehsaas, was pulled out of school after her parents couldn’t pay anymore. “It was the worst day and I cried a lot. However, they didn’t send me to school again. Not until today,” she adds. She’s begun to believe that one must never despair because everything comes back more gloriously like it has for her. She’s happy and so are the rest of them. Their smiles say it all through a feeling called “Ehsaas”.
|
|
PU to take correspondence dept fee through cheque
Chandigarh, October 6 At a meeting held yesterday, the Vice-Chancellor, along with senior officials of PU and State Bank of India, has decided that payments, which involved a large amounts, would now onwards be made to the university only through a bank draft or a cheque. This would include payment of shop rent, purchases from the university store, etc. The authorities have also decided to accept the payments of fees from students of the correspondence department also through a cheque or bank draft. It has also been decided that receipts of the payment made to the university will be made in duplication by the process of using a carbon paper. According to sources, it was also discussed to computerise the system of accepting payments, instead of keeping it manual, the option is however with the SBI as they would have to do it.
|
|
Annual conference of AWES institutes
Mohali, October 6 Opening the conference, Maj-Gen Manmohan Singh (retd.) PVSM, AVSM, MD, AWES, today reiterated the motto being followed by the AWES: Quality education at affordable rates. “My opening address was focused on the three basic premises of our institutions: infrastructure, faculty and transparency,” he said. Briefings by Director Colleges, Director Projects and Director AWES Head Quarter commands followed the opening address. The Directors/Heads of the various AWES institutions such as the Army Institute of Technology, Pune, Army Institute of Law, Mohali, Army Institute of Hotel Management Bangalore are participating in the conference under the guidance of Lieut Gen Mohinder Singh PVSM, AVSM Adjutant General. Lieut Gen M G Girish, VSM, DG C&W, Col B. Srinivasan (retd.) Director (Projects) and Col. D C Yadav (retd.) Director (Colleges) are among those attending the conference. Discussions regarding the role of Director AWES Commands in management of professional colleges, the administrative and technical inspection of professional colleges, the financial management of colleges and issues such as the clashing of the dates of WATs with other national/state-level exams and the migration of students were some of the issues that were discussed during the conference. Tomorrow’s session would be chaired by the DG C&W and presentations would be given by the various professional colleges. The session on October 8 would commence with the opening address by the Adjutant General and the conference would conclude with his remarks.
|
|
Exhibition on ‘Physics in our daily life’
Chandigarh, October 6 The exhibition, a part of the ongoing International Year of Physics - 2005 celebrations, has been organised by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers
(IAPT) in association with the Department of Physics, Panjab University, and the Indian Physics Association (IPA), Chandigarh. The exhibition has been sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, (Chandigarh) Prof
H.S. Virk, president of IAPT, spoke about the role of the IAPT in popularising physics. Prof Nirmal Singh, Chairman of Physics Department, PU, told the audience about the involvement of the department to the cause of physics. Prof U.S.
Kushwaha, ex-general secretary of the IAPT, coordinator for this exhibition, informed the audience about the various events organised for the IYP - 2005.
|
|
|
Kids go ‘shopping’ in school
Mohali, October 6 Children had a rollicking time purchasing titsbits of their choice from teachers and senior students, who acted as shopkeepers. The motive behind this activity was to make the children independent, self reliant and quick in taking decisions. Children were also asked to make the use of environment-friendly paper-bags and shun polythene bags in future.
|
|
|
Chandigarh, October 6
|
SC comes to landlords’ rescue
Chandigarh, October 6 The ruling was given by a Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India(CJI) C. Lahoti and comprising Mr Justice G.P. Mathur and Mr Justice P.K. Balasubramanyam, which dismissed a special leave petition (SLP) filed by Mr Rakesh Vij, a tenant of a shop-cum-flat (SCF) in Sector 37-A here. The SC granted six months to the tenant-appellant to vacate the premises. Saying that the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction (Extension to Chandigarh) Act, 1974, "has to be interpreted in a just and equitable manner", the court ruled that "to completely deprive a landlord of his right to seek eviction of a tenant from a non-residential building even on the ground of his own use for all times to come would be highly unjust and inequitable to him." It may be recalled that in 2000, Mr Justice R.L. Anand of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered in favour of the landlord, Dr Raminder Pal Singh Sethi, who had contended that he wanted the SCF for his personal use and occupation. Arguing for the vacation of the SCF, Dr Sethi, a dental surgeon, claimed that he wanted to set up a bigger state-of-the-art clinic. However, his eviction petition was opposed by Mr Vij's counsel on the ground that "eviction of the tenant cannot be sought on the ground of personal requirement of the landlord under the Act or the subsequent amendments.
|
|
New Release
Filmmaker Manmohan Singh is back with doing what he does best — making good-cast big-budget films. Punjabi film “Yaaran Naal Baharaan” brings together “Yahaan”-fame Jimmy Sheirgill and Raj Babbar’s daughter Juhi Babbar in lead roles. It is of course a big film for them, a film that could get box office success for the lead stars and Manmohan Singh.
The flick is slated to open at Kiran, Chandigarh, Fun Republic, Manimajra and Phul, Patiala, today. Produced by Preetpal Shergill, Dalwinder Lidher and Samit Brar, the film has photography by Harmeet Singh, dialogues by Amrik Gill, and story by Manmohan Singh. Depicting the life of college campus, “Yaaran Naal Baharaan” has been shot in Chandigarh. Based on the life of students studying on the Panjab University campus, it is a story of young lovers seeing each other and falling in love. Raj Babbar, Anupam Kher, Gurpreet Ghuggi and Vivek Shauq also star in the film. Babu Singh Maan has penned the lyrics for music director Jai Dev Kumar, who has come up with melodious tracks. Director Manmohan Singh is very excited about the project and hopes success will once again be his.
— D.P. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
