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Inculcating values Distance education needs revamp
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Inculcating values
When
we look back on our school life, we are filled with nostalgia remembering wonderful friends, the solidarity among students and the much-awaited recess time. On a serious note, we also remember the dreaded homework. But what we all live with, for the rest of our lives, is the motto of the respective school and the ethics that were imparted. These were reflected at the beginning of each day in the assembly in the school. Our chests puffed up with pride as we sang the school anthem followed by the national anthem. With the education system getting revamped in the past few years, what changes have occurred in the assembly? Ms Komal
Anand, Principal of the junior wing of Yadvindra Public School,
Mohali, says, “I believe the assembly is the best way to start the day. We have assemblies for different classes where the children get to show their talent. We start with a small prayer to thank God and ask Him to bless our friends and families. There are times when a child says an impromptu prayer if a near and dear one is in distress. The child goes home with a lighter heart. ‘Show and Tell’ encourages the children to show to their friends whatever drawing, model is special to them. Each section puts up a small act to clarify concepts. The classes IV and V read out news while for the tiny tots, the assembly means a place where they perform as a group.” Once, I went to see the assembly where Class II had chosen ‘Family’ as their theme. The students clarified concepts relating to maternal, paternal, joint and nuclear family in a very interesting manner. The event ‘Show and Tell’ had a young student,
Jasnoor, playing a wonderful tune on Casio, besides children showing their drawings and one girl showing her precious collection of shells. The assembly ended with the students and the staff singing a song saying that love is like a magic penny. If you hold it tight, you won’t have any but if you give it away you would have more. For Ms
Anand, value education is imparted through the assembly. Dr Harish
Dhillon, Principal, Yadvindra Public School, says, “We teach courtesy beside spiritual enlightenment to our students through this platform. We reward students for little acts of honesty and motivate them to achieve higher goals. We develop their public-speaking skills and reinforce values.” At St. John’s High School, the teachers try to bring out the creativity in each student. The classes get turns to enact a theme for the others. The topics range from healthy food to environment. The school authorities inform the students about festivals and important days through the ‘Show and Tell’. Through Easter, Dusshera and teachings of Gurus, the students are made aware of the beauty of ‘Unity in Diversity’ in India. The assembly ends with the Principal addressing the students and thanking the respective class for putting up a wonderful show. The boys sing their school song with gusto and are ready for the day ahead. Carmel Convent School has the girls stand in their respective classes, while the girls on duty conduct the assembly through the microphone from the Principal’s office. The school starts with a hymn and the thought for the day. This is followed by the news headlines, important announcement, the pledge and the national anthem. For the Principal, Sister Maria Christi, the assembly means starting the day with a prayer and devoting a few moments to God, asking for His blessing and His forgiveness. She says, “Prayer is a pillar of strength for us. We offer ourselves to God and get power to go through the day without hurting anyone. There are girls who come up with different problems and the prayer bring succour to them.” Saanya, a student of Class 10+1, feels that it is a time for introspection.
Niki, her classmate, says it is their daily relationship with God. On a lighter vein, Nitya says she prays harder when an exam is scheduled for the day. Nupur is grateful that God is there as an anchor. For Apoovra the prayers are more fervent during the exam time. All of them agree that the assembly is a time when they feel the presence of God. St. Stephens School has Assembly on every Monday and Friday for the senior wing. For Ms Judy Thomas and Ms
Manjeet, the in charge of the assembly, it is a time when the children and the staff express their love for God. The students are taught to forget and forgive any animosity that they carry with them. Teachers are assigned duties on different floors from where they watch the students sing the school prayers and hymns. A short story with a moral message by Principal Carver is the highlight of each assembly. Everything is methodical with the Principal watching with an eagle’s eye for any sign of indiscipline. For Jaskaran
Lamba, the ethos of secularism is reflected through the Assembly. Nirbhay
Goel, the School Captain, says the assembly fills them with the spirit of oneness. All barriers of caste and religion are broken. The school assembly has evolved into an institution by itself. The students don’t have to wait for the annual function to showcase their talent. The assembly gives a chance to each and every child, around the year to blossom.
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Distance education needs revamp The
distance education mode was adopted by many a university to meet the ever-growing demand of those students who lacked means to pursue higher education through the regular stream. Also, there were economic constraints. Consequently, many universities across the country started correspondence courses by providing notes, developing a system of evaluation of response sheets. The success of these courses led to the establishment of Indira Gandhi National Open University, which is now rated as one of the best such universities in the world. I think that the write-up ‘Time to review distance education’ by Sunit Dhawan (May 15, 2007), has given a timely call for the review of distance education by keeping the interests of the students in focus. Gradually, many more universities joined the race to undertake distance education programmes in the diverse areas of knowledge. But the motive of these late entrants was to augment financial resources and expand the areas of influence rather than providing for quality education through distance education. In the process, many universities ventured to allow research degree programmes through correspondence. At present, a rat race has started. As a result, the students find themselves in a fix for they are being exploited and cheated by those very teachers whom they once regarded as their role models. The teachers on their part are least hesitant in seizing opportunities coming their way to mint money, even if they have to resort to unethical means. It is in this perspective that one has to look at the decision of Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, and Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, to bar their faculty members from guiding research students of other universities enrolled on distance education programmes. There are instances where a large number of regular college teachers have enrolled as many as eight to 10 students of universities from the South and are charging hefty amounts from them in the name of guidance. The question is: are they giving quality guidance and enough time to these students? Also, the students are falling victim to the feuds among the teachers engaged in unhealthy competition for earning popularity and money. In such a situation, some of the good teachers refuse to guide students in order to avoid unbecoming situations. Even the Study Centre people authorised by the universities to co-ordinate such arrangements on behalf of the universities become party to the wranglings among the teachers and fleece the students. All those teachers who are engaged in such activities neglect their work in colleges/universities, thus playing havoc with the careers of students. It is high time that the Distance Education Council, a central body for upholding standards, makes a move to provide guidelines for the research programmes in various disciplines and implement a code of conduct for teachers who opt to supervise the research work. The writer is a former Pro-Vice-Chancellor
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Campus NoteS VC directed to appear before HC In
an apparent
embarrassment to the university, Vice-Chancellor Dr Jagmohan
Singh has been directed to appear before the state High Court on
May 24, 2007, in a case relating to award of degrees to three
Ph.D students who had been awarded fictitious marks without
checking their answersheets in 2005. The degrees were conferred
on May 16 by the university’s Chancellor and Governor V.S.
Kokje. The matter was prominently highlighted by a section of the media last week before the May 16 convocation. Taking a stern view of the laxity, Chief Justice V.K.Gupta and Justice V.K.Ahuja have directed the Vice-Chancellor to personally appear before the court in this matter. The
counsel Ankush Dass while presenting the public interest
litigation demanded an independent probe into the matter. The
matter has put a question mark over the university’s
examination procedure as despite a three-member committee
establishing the laxity the authorities had cared two hoots
about getting the answersheets evaluated. Not only had the
students been promoted to the next semester on the basis of
fictitious marks awarded by the department of Post Harvest
Technology, but also virtually little was taken to bring the
erring teachers to book. The case had come to light in August 2005 when the Vice-Chancellor after receiving the reports of unchecked answersheets had sent a three-member squad to seize the answersheets. This three-member committee comprising the Registrar, Director, Research, and Dean, College of Horticulture, had later conducted an inquiry into the matter and established the negligence of the faculty. The committee had however let-off the faculty by merely making an adverse entry into the Annual Confidential Report of the Head of the Department, Dr S.P.S.Guleria. There is much anxiety among the university authorities, as the VC has to appear personally before the court on May 24. This is perhaps the first case of this kind where such laxity had been left unattended.
Peach research station Giving
boost to the peach growers of the Rajgarh area of Sirmaur
district, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s recent announcement
of establishing a peach research station in the region has lit a
ray of hope for the thousands of orchard owners. Having earned
the sobriquet of the ‘Peach Bowl of India’, the region
produces one of the best peaches in the country. It was the lack
of marketing and processing facilities that had reduced this
hitherto economic venture into a waning proposition. The area is known for its stone fruits where plums, peaches and apricots occupy the major share of agrarian produce. The growers are jubilant and await the realisation of their dream project, which would go a long way in uplifting their economy.
Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
Eminent scholars to head Chairs Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) would appoint eminent and distinguished scholars to various Chairs established at the university to undertake quality research about the life, teachings, philosophy and the contribution of great personalities. Disclosing this, Vice-Chancellor Jai Rup Singh said the university had already constituted a committee consisting of eminent scholars and former vice-chancellors of various universities. At present Sant Kabir Chair, Bhagat Namdev Chair, Guru Ravidas Chair, Namdhari Guru Ram Singh Chair, Baba Budha Sikh Studies Chair, Hazrat Sai Mian Mir Chair and Bhagat Puran Singh Chair for Studies in Selfless Service to Humanity are lying vacant and the process to appoint scholars of excellence on these Chairs has already been initiated, he said. Informing that the varsity has not scrapped any Chair, Dr Jai Rup Singh said a committee of eminent scholars and former vice-chancellors had been formed to evaluate the work already done by various Chairs and on the recommendations of this committee, it had been decided to appoint eminent scholars having long experience and quality research work to these Chairs. He said earlier professors of various departments were assigned additional duties to look after the work of the Chairs. He said in addition to an advertisement inviting nominations of distinguished scholars from the vice-chancellors of various universities and directors of reputed research institutions, he had also written personal letters to them and sent e-mails to name the eminent scholars suitable for these Chairs. —
Contributed by Ambika Sharma and Sanjay Bumbroo
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