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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
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Urdu centre fighting for survival
Shillong set to get IIM
CAMPUS SCENE |
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Urdu centre fighting for survival Established as a nodal centre to impart Urdu training to the in-service teachers of Himachal Pradesh having Hindi background, the Urdu Teaching and Research Centre (UTRC) at Solan is fighting for its survival today. Opened on a special request of the state government in 1973, the frequently changing education policy of the state has done more harm than good to it. This has not only reduced the total number of teachers receiving Urdu training here, but also put a question mark on its very existence. Urdu was initially taught as a compulsory language along with Hindi in the state. As a result, there was a huge rush of admission seekers for the ten-month course, but with the government making a certain change in its policy in 1982, whereby students could opt for either Urdu or Sanskrit in class VIII, the demand for acquiring training in Urdu went down sharply. The Principal of the college, Dr Jog Raj, who has been watching its decline since 1995, said it had been done without the consent of the Urdu centre, violating its policy based on an understanding with the government. To add to its peril, the government brought another change in its policy and introduced Sanskrit as a compulsory subject for class VIII, while Urdu was reduced to the status of an optional subject for the ninth and tenth classes. This, he believes, did maximum harm to Urdu learning, as students preferred learning Sanskrit in higher classes to opting for an altogether new language, Urdu. The centre, which was set up in 1973 with 51 teachers from Himachal Pradesh, saw its worst stage in the 1993-1994 session when only three students — two from Himachal Pradesh and one from Rajasthan—received training here. With the number of trainees from Himachal Pradesh having come down, the centre has not been able to justify its annual expenditure that runs in crores of rupees. The centre also recruits teachers from Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Bihar, Haryana, Manipur, Assam, Orissa, etc. The centre now has 29 teachers on its rolls. Expressing concern over the falling strength, the principal says: “The government has not been able to keep its promise of providing the centre with about 95 per cent of the teachers from Himachal Pradesh for training as per its policy. While this has forced the centre to approach recognised private schools to get their teachers trained, nothing much is being achieved by resorting to such measures.” This is in spite of the fact that the centre bears the entire cost of granting salaries as per scale to those being trained. The salaries are in addition to a monthly stipend of Rs 800. The cost of boarding and lodging incurred on these teachers is also borne by the centre. While this has led to saving of funds incurred in lieu of salaries of teachers in the state, there are few takers for the centre today. Not only have the efforts of the centre to promote learning and teaching of Urdu received a jolt, but also the teachers after receiving training here are often transferred from a high school to a middle school that doesn’t teach Urdu. This again is a violation of the established policy. Apart from these handicaps, the major problem confronting the centre is the dilapidated building from which it is run. Besides, being declared unfit for habitation, the building has insufficient space for running such a centre. The two-odd classrooms barely manage to handle the strength. While this makes the task of a teacher more difficult, the ambience associated with teaching remains largely amiss. The phonetics laboratory, which has specialised equipment for learning the language, remains largely unutilised due to space constraints. The centre has 20 booths for accommodating as many students. The fact that the majority of its equipment could not be installed for lack of space has led to rusting of the costly equipment in the storeroom. In the absence of enough space, nor can a monitor be installed for viewing films on Urdu studies. Leaking roofs does more harm to the equipment and books. A few narrow rooms house the collection of over 10,000 books on various subjects, including linguistics, language teaching, literature, etc. A worn-out wiring with little space to accommodate just two chairs comprise the reading space in the libraries. Hostels are located away from the centre, which is another cause for concern. The centre has been trying to get a better accommodation, but it has failed to effectively pursue its case before the state government, which has chosen to ignore the issue. The Principal fears that if the present situation continues, the centre may soon be shifted to another state like Andhra Pradesh that has shown much interest in it. While this would devoid the state of a prestigious centre of learning, it would also put an end to promotion of Urdu in Himachal Pradesh. When asked if an alternative land could be allotted to the centre in case it applied to the district administration, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rajesh Kumar, said the problem could be solved if the centre as well as the administration put concerted efforts.
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Shillong set to get IIM Barring a last-minute hitch in plan, country’s seventh Indian Institute of Management (IIM) will be set up in Meghalaya. While the process was initiated by the previous BJP-led NDA government, it is Union minister P R. Lyndiah, who is from Meghalaya, who played a key role in persuading Union Minister for Human Resource Development Arjun Singh to throw his dice in favour of his state, beating Assam, Nagaland and Mizoram, who were also trying to bring this prestigious institute to their states.Sources in the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) led by Chief Minister D. D. Lapang of the
Congress told this correspondent that the AICC observer for North East, Mr Ramesh Chennithala, during his recent visit to the state, had passed on the message with regard to the selection to none other than Mr Lapang. The three-member committee constituted by New Delhi to shortlist contenders finally chose picturesque Shillong, capital of Meghalaya, for setting up the prestigious institute. The panel had already submitted its report to the Union Home Ministry and it was expected to be cleared by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet colleague Arjun Singh shortly.A senior minister of the MDA told this correspondent: “We were always ahead in the race with Assam, Nagaland and Mizoram because Shillong occupies a high position among the educational centres of the country.”While Nagaland and Mizoram were reportedly denied on the basis of geographical considerations, Assam could not make it because it already had an Indian Institute of Technology (in Guwahati). The proposed institute will initially function under one of the established IIMs in the country. The six IIMs are in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore and Kozhikode. The Union Home Ministry has, reportedly, made it clear to the Meghalaya government that the proposed IIM in Shillong is meant to be a national institute and not exclusively for students from this region.
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CAMPUS SCENE AS part of the ongoing beautification drive, landscaping is being carried out in full swing on the university campus. Lush green lawns are being prepared and spacious parking lots developed around the university buildings, including the library and administrative and teaching blocks. Apart from this, weeds are being removed and trees are being pruned to give a new look to the campus. As a result of the cleanliness campaign undertaken by the university administration, one can hardly see any polythene bags littered on the GJU premises. Though the lawns will take some time to develop, cleaner surroundings indicate that a new-look GJU campus is on the cards. Teaching block inaugurated The Haryana Governor and GJU Chancellor, Dr A. R. Kidwai, inaugurated the Teaching Block No. 5 of the GJU during his recent visit to the university. He also laid the foundation stone of the Mechanical Engineering Workshop on the campus. Dr Kidwai inspected the GJU library, management and computer departments. The Chancellor also addressed members of the faculty.
Pharmacy Week The Pharmacy Department of the university organised a Pharmacy Week from November 21 to 27. During this, students from various schools of the state were provided with the basic knowledge on career prospects in the field of pharmacy. Postgraduate students of the department also visited several schools to make the students aware of the discipline. Prof A. S. Dhake, Head of the Pharmacy Department, appreciated the efforts of the students.
Book exhibition A two-day exhibition of books was organised at the GJU Faculty House earlier this month. Twenty-seven publishers from various parts of Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh took part in the exhibition, which was inaugurated by the university Vice-Chancellor, Mr Vishnu Bhagwan. Thousands of books on a wide variety of topics were exhibited on this occasion, according to the university Librarian, Prof H.L. Verma.
Refresher courses The departments of applied chemistry and business management organised refresher courses for teachers on the campus. The topic of the course organised by the Business Management Department was “Contemporary Issues in Business Management”. More than 30 teachers participated in the course. The Department of Applied Chemistry organised a UGC-sponsored refresher course, in which 22 teachers from various states participated.
Award for teacher Dr Dinesh Dhingra of the Pharmacy Department has won the Prof M. L. Khurana Memorial Award for presenting the best research paper in 2003. He was presented the award at the Pharmaceutical Congress last week. Seventeen researchers from Haryana had presented their papers.
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Agriculture
Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Krishak Nagar, Raipur-492006 (CG). 1) Masters in Vet Sc (MVSc) (Animal Genetics & Breeding, Animal Nutrition, Live Stock Prodn & Mgt, Vet Pathol, Vet Med, Vet Physiol, Animal Reproduction (Obst & Gynae), Vet. Pharmacol, Vet Parasitol, Vet Anatomy & Histol, Vet Surgery & Radiol, Vet Microbiol) 2) PhD Eligibility: For 1: BVSc & AH degree (10 + 2 + 5 sys) with OGPA of 6.5 on a 10 pt scale (or 55%). For 2: Master’s deg in relv subject with OGPA of 6 on a 10 pt scale (or 60%). Application F: Send Rs 150/- by DD fvg "Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur (CG)" payable at Raipur with self-add env (10 x 22 cm) to the Dean, College of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry, Anjora, Durg (CG) Architecture February 15 Institute of Town
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Recruiting (Women Entry Sec), West Block-III, R K Puram, New Delhi
110066 Women Special Entry
Scheme (Officers) Eligibility:
Unmarried women/ issueless widows/divorcee of Defence personnel; DoB: 02 Oct ‘80 – 01 Oct ‘86 Min Ht: 152 cm Wt: 42 kg (5cm relaxn for Hill Region) Selection: SSB interview, Psy Aptt Test Details: Employment News (1-7 January)/Website. January 24 Indian Navy, P Box
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Technology (Deemed Univ), Vellore-632014 (TN). VIT Entrance Exam (VITEE) - 2005 (For Admission to BTech (Bioinformatics, Biotech, Chem Engg, Civil Engg, Comp Sc & Engg, Elect & Electron Engg, Electron & Commn Engg, Electron & Instru Engg, IT, Mech Engg, Telecom) Eligibility: 10+2 (PCM or B: 50%). Test: 17 Apr ’05 (at 22 centres). Application F: Send Rs 650/- by DD fvg "Vellore Institute of Technology" payable at Vellore to Director (Admissions) at above add /download from website. Birla Institute of
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India, P.O. Box 18, Chandrabai, Dehradun-248001 (UA) MSc in Wildlife Sc
(2-yr) Eligibility: BSc (55%). Age Limit: Employed: 35 yrs, others: 30 yrs (on 1 Jul ’05). Selection: Written Test: Apr ‘05 (at D ‘dun, Kol ‘ta, B’lore & M ‘bai). Application F: Send Rs 300/- by DD fvg "Director, Wildlife Institute of India," Payable at D‘dun with typed Application stating: (1) Name (2) Mailing Add (3) DoB (4) SC/ST (5) Edu Qual (6) Exp (7) Choice of Exam Center (8) Optnl subject for Written Test (Life Sc/Forestry/Vet. Sc/Agri. Sc) (9) Contact (Tel, Fax, E-Mail), with rel certs of age, min. qual, SC/ST status & recent PP photo to: Course Director, MSc (Wildlife Sc) at above add. Superscribe env "Application for X-MSc Wildlife Science". Details: Employment News (1-7 January)/Website IT January 10 Centre for Development
of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), (M/o IT, GoI), Gulmohar Cross Rd No 9,
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of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), C-4, Sec-10, Noida (GoI, M/o Comm &
IT) 1) DOEACC ‘B’ Level
Course (3-yr) Eligibility: For 1: Bachelor’s deg For 2: A level Pass Selection: Interview: 22 January ’05 Application: At counter: Rs.100/- Management February 5 Birla Institute of
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& Risk Mgt, Retail & Merchdg Mgt, Entrpren’shp & Fmly
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Contact the respective District Social Welfare Officer — Pervin Malhotra |
January 30