City page for Nov 25

WEATHER

Forecast (November 24): Rain/thundershowers at few in plains and low hills, rain/snow at many places in middle hills, and rain/snow at many places in high hills

Temperatures:

Shimla: 12.2 (max) 6.3 (min) Degrees Celsius Sunrise: 6:57 am, sunset: 5:20 pm

Dharamshala: 13.4 (max), 6.6 (min) Degrees Celsius

Manali: 6.2 (max), 1.2 (min) Degrees Celsius

Readers Say

Vegetable sellers block road

The Mall Road in Solan town has become a convenient place to display vegetables for sale. A large part of the road is occupied by the roadside vendors and this obstructs the pedestrians, as well as the vehicles crossing this busy part of the town. Why the authorities are silent to this traffic disruption? This is a violation of the order that declares roads as non-vendor zones. —Rashmi, Solan

Wear masks in buses

While the government has ordered that buses be plied with 50 per cent occupancy, it should also be ensured that everyone sitting in the bus is wearing a mask. Many people board the bus without wearing masks, caring little for the safety of other passengers. They too should be challaned. – Ramit Verma, Kasumpti

Education Notes

CBSE conducts webinar on arts

A webinar on ‘Integration of arts in English’ was conducted by CBSE’s Panchkula-based Centre of Excellence, where the resource person from Army Public School, Dagshai, Ravi Sharma, deliberated on various aspects. He said the concept is being introduced as a teaching tool as per the CBSE’s directions to make learning joyful, increase vizualisation, shift from rote methods and develop an art-based enquiry among the students. “This approach provides an opportunity to enhance students’ creativity,” he said. Its unique aspects include assessing students’ unfinished tasks, and evaluating the process and not the product. It is non- competitive, non-comparitive. It aims at making children feel at home.

NSUI allegesirregularities in appointments

The NSUI has expressed concern over the ‘declining standards’ of education in the state. Alleging that the Education Minister was nowhere to be seen, NSUI state president Chhatar Thakur said the appointments in the biggest educational institutions were not above board. He claimed that people with PhD degrees were being ignored and MTech degree-holders were being appointed. Such irregularities in the appointment of professors were unfortunate. Citing the case of promoting TGTs to school lecturers, he said the government was playing with the future of students. He also asked the government to sort the Central University issues, failing which they would launch a state-wide agitation.

Close HP University too: HPUTA

The HPUTA demanded that the state decision to keep all government educational institutions closed till December 31 should be implemented in HPU as well. The HPUTA members were surprised that the government was not considering to close down the university like all other educational institutions. It could be disastrous, as many teachers and other employees have tested positive for Covid-19. HPUTA demands that SOPs should be strictly implemented at all entry points of the university and teachers’ colony to check the spread of the pandemic. It also demanded that the University Health Centre should be equipped with adequate ventilators, oxygen cylinders, medicines and other equipments.

ABVP convention concludes

The 41st convention of the ABVP, Himachal Pradesh, concluded at Choti Kashi in Mandi on Tuesday. Sunil Thakur and Vishal Verma were appointed the state president and the state minister, respectively, at the convention. Verma said the convention was telecast live on the ABVP’s official page. Stating that not even one regular professor had been appointed at the technical univeristy, Hamirpur, Verma said the ABVP would not tolerate this and launch an agitation.