National seminar

A two-day UGC-sponsored national seminar on “Issues in development and governance of social sector in India” was inaugurated at Guru Granth Sahib Bhawan Auditorium in Guru Nanak Dev University on Friday. The seminar has been organised by the School of Social Sciences of the university. A large number of researchers, students and teachers from various universities and institutions are participating. Dr Rukmini Banerji, CEO, Pratham India highlighted the evolution of education in India. She said on the basis of a survey carried out in 70,473 villages covering more than 3,50,232 households and 5,62,305 children in the age group of three to 16 years, there had been steady improvement observed at the level of enrollment.The proportion of girls who remained out of school in the age group of 11 to 14 years was the highest in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. On the other hand, Kerala and Gujarat have shown remarkable increase in government school enrollment in the age group of 11 to 14 years, she said. She also said the reading ability of children in government schools of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra had improved whereas the ability to perform simple arithmetic had been abysmally low. Prof NS Tung, Dean, Academic Affairs, presided over the inaugural session. In his address, he highlighted the need for improvement in social infrastructure to improve education and health sector of Punjab. Prof Kuldip Kaur, Head of the Department, highlighted the shortcomings of social infrastructure in India and suggested the need for increasing role of the state in ensuring better provisions for education and healthcare in Punjab. Dr Anjali Mehra, co-director of the seminar, conducted the proceedings of the seminar and Dr GS Bajwa, organising secretary, proposed the vote of thanks.

Special lecture

The Department of Chemistry, Khalsa College, on Friday organised a special lecture by Dr Avtar Singh Matharu, Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, University of York (UK).  Dr Matharu gave tips about applications of chemistry in waste management. Citing an example of agriculture straw, the burning of which is banned in United  Kingdom, he explained how such excessive output could be converted into straw blocks with high intensity, as a bio-alternative to wood. He also demonstrated the use of waste paper- its microwave conversion gives yellowish oil which has excellent adhesive properties. He laid emphasis on recycling, regenerating and reusing materials. The lecture was attended by students and faculty members of the department. Dr Amit Anand conducted the stage. Dr MS Batra, Head of the Department, said the technology was growing fast and to keep pace with the latest developments in the field, such seminars were extremely important. 

Essay writing contest

The Red Ribbon Club of DAV College on Friday organised an essay-writing competition based on “AIDS awareness”. The Red Ribbon club is a movement started by the government in educational institutes through which awareness about HIV/AIDS is disseminated. Nearly 50 students of the college from various streams like PGDCA, MSc (computer science), BCA, BSc (IT), BSc (non-medical), BSc (computer science), BSc (biotech) participated in the event. The event was organised by Prof Harsimran Singh Anand, Nodal officer, Red Ribbon Club, Prof Kapil Goel, Prof Renu Sharma and student members of the club. Principal Dr Rajesh Kumar appreciated the efforts of the coordinators and said such events were helpful in educating youth about preventive measures of the HIV/AIDS.

Placement drive

A placement drive was organised by the training and placement cell of Khalsa College here today in which ICICI Prudential Life Insurance selected 13 students. The drive was conducted by ICICI officials, Amit Singla and Ravineet Kaur, HR managers from Chandigarh, on the college campus. Principal Dr Mehal Singh said students of BCA, B.Com, BBA, B.Sc (computer science), B.Sc (information technology), B.Sc (agriculture), M.Com attended the placement drive and 13 students cleared three rounds of the drive which included presentation, group discussions and interview. He congratulated the students and praised the endeavors of director, training and placements, Prof Harbhajan Singh and placement co-ordinators Prof Sukhpuneet Kaur, Prof Nidhi Sabbharwal, Prof Poonamjeet Kaur and Prof Prabhsimran Singh. — TNS