EDUCATION

More technical institutes for Haryana students 
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, February 6
The Haryana Government has decided to expand the network of technical institutes besides starting new courses. It has also increased the intake capacity of several institutes from this academic session 2002-2003.

According to official sources, while an Indian Institute of Information Technology would be set up on the premises of government polytechnic, Manesar, no-objection certificates had been issued to two engineering colleges, one MCA college and a pharmacy college.

Four self-financing institutes which had been issued no-objection certificates, included Ambala College of Engineering and Applied Research at Ambala Cantt, Bhiwani Institute of Technology and Sciences, Bhiwani MPCT Institute and Engineering and Technology, Panjakra, Ambala Cantt and Janata Vidya Institute for para-medical science at Butana village in Sonepat district.

An MCA course with an intake capacity of 60 students would be started at Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra and YMCA Institute of Engineering, Faridabad, M Tech. Computer engineering with an intake capacity of 30 would be started at YMCA Faridabad and M.E. Mechnical Engineering and Master’s degree in technology management with an intake capacity of 40 each would be started at CR State College of Engineering at Murthal in the district.

The intake capacity of IT at YMCA Faridabad would be increased from 30 to 60. The intake capacity of various courses being run at the Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra, had been rationalised and increased from 327 to 480, keeping in view the manpower requirement.

The degree level courses would be started at Government Polytechnic, Nilokheri. In case of engineering colleges, their number had increased from 20 in 1999-2000 to 30 in 2001-2002 and the intake capacity for degree or Bachelor of Engineering or B.Tech was also raised from 3980 to 8311 during the same period.

The number of MBA colleges increased from eight to 12 and their intake capacity was also raised from 430 to 700. Similarly, the number of MCA colleges was increased from two to 17, thus enhancing their intake capacity from 90 to 810 during the same period. The number of pharmacy colleges was also raised from two to three and their intake capacity from 80 to 180.

The number of polytechnics was increased from 25 to 29 and their intake capacity from 3635 to 5825. As many as 45 work stations of HARTRON were set up during the year 2001-2002 with an intake capacity of 5100. Computer engineering had been made a compulsory subject for all diploma level students.

Three institutes, namely Government Institute of Engineering and Technology, Hissar, Government Polytechnic Sirsa and BPS Mahila Polytechnic Kanya Gurukul, Khanpur Kalan in Sonepat district had been selected by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry for upgrading them to provide training programme along with formal or non-formal courses to the physically disabled under the direct Central assistance scheme. Admission for five seats in each discipline had been made for 2001-2002.

A number of steps had been taken to improve the quality of education. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed between the Technical Education Department and the Microsoft, IBM Corporation to improve the training programmes.

The Government Polytechnic, Nilokheri, and the Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra, had been awarded an ISO-9002 for their commitment to technical education. A scheme of internal revenue generation was being introduced in all the polytechnics to make the system a self-sustaining industry.

CAMPUS
Raja Reddy jogs students’ memory about great Indian culture 
Gaurav Choudhury

Why is our youth getting distanced from the Indian classical music and dances, an expression of Indian culture, while the Europeans, the Americans and the rest of the world are adopting it with elan?

Replying to this important question and expressing concern at the trend, eminent Kuchipudi dancer, Padma Bhushan Raja Reddy, exhorted the students to present to the world the greatness and richness of Indian culture in all its varied forms. As the chief guest at the third Anugoonj Youth Festival, which began on Friday at the Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) campus in Kashmiri Gate, he asked the students to reject the negative influences of the western society and take pride in the unique Indian cultural values.

He cited several instances when he was amazed at the inquisitiveness of foreigners about the intricacies and the philosophy of Indian music and dances. He said that it was unfortunate that music and dance lovers abroad were getting Indianised while our own youth are unaware of the greatness of our culture.

Explaining the spiritual foundations of Indian dances, he said that during the Treta Yuga, when the people had gone wayward, Lord Brahma created the fifth Veda, the Natya Veda, which is reflected in the Natya Shastra.

He said that Indian dances have come down to us through the ages and they symbolize the best in Man and Woman, Purush and Prakriti and Tandav and Lavanya.

Commenting upon the common threads between the various Indian dances like Odissi (Orissa), Kuchipudi (Andhra), Bharatnatyam (Tamil Nadu) and Manipuri (Manipur), he said that all of them are an expressions of the essential forms of Indian dances which have been systematised as per the Natya Shastra.

In his hour-long address, Raja established a rapport with the students in the packed auditorium when he and his wife, Padma Bhushan Radha Reddy, switched over to an informal, impromptu lecture-cum-performance, where they explained nearly three dozen hand gestures, eyes and body movements, to take the audience to a different world altogether.

Accompanied on Mridangam by Bhaskar Rao and Miss Shail Bhavani as the vocalist, they danced on a brass plate. They concluded their show with Varna, where again, they expressed the beauty of Kuchipudi through hand, eye and body movements.

Remembering an incident in New Orleons (USA), Raja recalled a comment of a 95-year-old lady who after watching his performance during the Festival of India, said that only Indian dances provided the perfect balance between mind, movement, rhythm and expression.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Prof K. Kannan, chief of the organizing committee, expressed the hope that a new department of performing arts and Indian culture would be started, where eminent artistes would work as faculty members, when the University shifted to its new campus at Dwarka and East Delhi.

He particular thanked the students of Sushant School of Art and Architecture, for creating the podium at the main ground in a record time. He also congratulated Prof Madhu Bala Julka and her students, who were looking after the media cell and brought out onsite dailies on all the three days of the festival. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof K. K. Aggarwal, also encouraged the students to use this festival to bring out their hidden talents.

Students from nearly 50 affiliated colleges of the GGSIPU took part in the three-day extravaganza on music, dance, literature, theatre (street play) and painting competition.

MOOT COURT

The Amity Law School hosted its annual two-day Amity National Moot Court Competition at the India Habitat Centre, in which teams from 20 law schools, spread across 11 states, participated.

Mr Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, inaugurated the competition in which a court ambience is created and students argue cases for and against a problem.

Calling for an in-built check mechanism for the judicial system, Mr Jaitley said ardent changes are required to assure that the legal system in India continues to be respected and young talent is attracted to the profession.

Complimenting the Amity Law School students on taking the initiative to organise the competition, he said: “It is heartening to see that the private bodies contribute to the broadening of the education base in India. The participation from the private sector has become essential with the growing limitation of the state in the financial sector.

The Amity Law School, affiliated to the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, is an institution of the Ritnand Balved Education Foundation (RBEF) that is the umbrella body for 32 Amity schools and institutions in and around Delhi.

About the qualities of a good lawyer, Mr Jaitley gave primary importance to credibility, followed by scholarship and articulation ability. Addressing the concerns of the students about the profession becoming saturated, he said, “The ambit of law practice has expanded tenfold and specialisation has become the need of the hour.”

Speaking on the relevance of Moot Court competition, Dr Ashok K. Chauhan, Founder President, RBEF, said: “The growing competitions show the spurt in competitiveness among law students.”

SUCCESS MANTRA

‘TQM-A Roadmap to Success’, a lecture-cum-presentation on Total Quality Management, was recently delivered by Mr D. K. Bakshi, General Manager, Human Resources, Luxor Writing Instruments Pvt Ltd at the All India Management Association, Lodhi Road, New Delhi.

The lecture was on ‘how TQM can play an important role in building and retaining the best talent’. This goes a long way in maintaining business processes, which is a challenging task. The lecture was a carry forward from Mr Bakshi’s new book, “Corporate Excellence Through TQM- An HR approach”, wherein he emphasised the expanding scope of TQM and its overall implications to management. Mr Bakshi stressed the need for the managers to understand larger society and customer-driven issues. He also highlighted the core attributes of TQM and defined it as an indispensable tool to achieve corporate excellence.

According to Mr Bakshi, “Fine tuning of various business processes is a continuous and challenging task. Managers can use TQM as an operational link to respond to consumer expectations and requirements.”

The lecture was attended by a distinguished gathering that included Mr P. D. Dwarkanath, Director, HR, Glaxo Smithkline Beecham, General D. N. Khurana, Director General, AIMA, Mr Kamal Singh, Director, AIMA. Also present were the top brass from leading companies along with senior IAS and government officials.

WORKSHOP HELD

Wigan and Leigh College has developed special programmes for team orientation and teamwork for its students. According to the college, the programme prepares the students “for realities of the work environment” and gives them an edge over others in these aspects. These are skills that are often honed in the modern workplace.

A company spends enormous time, money and effort in retraining executives at all levels. The college, which has been working in close cooperation with the industry, through its apprenticeship and traineeship programmes, incorporates these soft skills as part of its curriculum, so that when the students joins the industry he is fully equipped to handle the pressures of the modern workplace, a college spokesperson said.

EDINBURGH SCHOOL

Professor Alex Scot interacts with the students of New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM).

Professor Scott interacted with the students and reinforced Endiburgh’s commitment to high quality education in India. He also emphasised Edinburgh’s commitment to cultural exchange of faculty/students and more interactive learning sessions.

INDRADHANUSH CELEBRATED

An ‘Indradhanush’ participant.

A two-day festival, ‘Indradhanush’, was organised by the College of Vocational Studies on January 29 and 30, 2002. The function was full of colourful events such as rangoli competition, poetry recitation, street play etc. Students from more than 20 colleges of the University of Delhi participated in the various inter-college events during the festival, which was co-sponsored by the Hindustan Times, You-topia and Coca-Cola.

The well-known classical dancer, Ms Yamini Krishnamurthy, inaugurated the function by lighting a lamp in the morning. Dr Prakash Chander, the Principal, welcomed the chief guest and introduced the participants, students and teachers of the college to the renowned classical dancer.

He apprised her of the various cultural activities held in the college every year and the new zeal and devotion of students and teachers in Indian classical music and dances. In her small speech, Ms Yamini Krishnamurthy emphasised the importance of Indian cultural heritage. She expressed concern over the waning interest in the Indian classical dance and music.

Ms Yamini Krishnamurthy performs at the ‘Indradhanush’, a two-day festival organised by the College of Vocational Studies.

She rued the fact that the present generation has become inclined towards western dance and music. Indian classical dance and music brings peace of mind and helps in the personality development. When a person falls in love with classical dance, she said, a feeling comes about that the “whole world is beneath the feet”. Later, she performed some of the popular gestures (mudras) of a beautiful girl.

The function started with the singing of the ‘Vande-Mataram’, followed by ‘Shabad’ from Gurubani.

The inaugural session came to an end with a series of folk dance by the students of the college. Among the various cultural activities on the first day, included poster-making, western group/vocal dance, poetry recitation, street play and Western/Indian vocal music competition. The day ended with a grand fashion show. The packed auditorium was a proof of the popularity of the show.

On the second day, a large number of students participated in events such as face painting, ghazal singing, debate, extempore speech, antakshari and mimicry-competition. In the evening, there was a star performance by Shail and Boy C with Zenith. In the concluding session, the Principal of the college distributed prizes to the winners. Finally, Ms Neeta Chandani, the president of the student union, thanked the participants, students, teachers, various committees and the karmacharis who worked tirelessly to make ‘Indradhanush’ a grand success.