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Discipline dilemma Cultural activity
helps improve pupils’ creativity Campus
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Rs 54-lakh grant for CBT
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Discipline dilemma DEMOCRACY, secularism, equality and individual freedom are some of the buzzwords of contemporary world most eulogised by the prestigious educational institutions of our country. The Preamble of Constitution of India is often cited in order to give weight to these values that place the individual before any collectivity. The heavy focus upon human rights protection by the United Nations percolating to the local levels has further made the individuals intensely aware of their rights at a very young age, thanks to textbooks, media messages and public discourse celebrating individual freedom and rights. In the realm of education, from a student to a teacher, everybody is intensely conscious of his/her rights. I strongly feel that this realisation has made us too biased towards our own selves, with a complete apathy for others or for the institution from which each one of us as an individual draws an identity. As a consequence, the moment there is a clash between my personal interest and that of others or of the institution, I jump to save my own interest because I have been taught to save my personal rights. To this, I do ascribe the recent incidents that have taken place in schools, colleges and universities, where young students have retaliated aggressively when their teachers took action to discipline them. I have frequently witnessed young highly educated urban parents giving a bitter scolding to their small children, when they disobey their commands to behave properly in public gatherings because they seek status enhancement through their children even when they are too young to understand the meaning of mannerism. The same parents are not ready to tolerate a teacher who attempts to discipline their ill-mannered and misbehaving child. The repercussions of this retaliation by parents and society at large are going to be enormous. Teachers shall cease to bother about the rowdy behaviour of their pupils, turning their face away when a student tears away the notebook of another student or teases a female classmate or misbehaves with a teacher or is seen taking drugs on school premises or watches pornographic material, and so on. As a parent I have seen a number of parents on the verge of crying at parent-teacher meetings, begging the class teacher to pull up their child because he/she does not listen to them and misbehaves at home with everyone. When I watch grown-up boys and girls in the university indulging in rowdy behaviour with their classmates, teachers and office staff, I cannot help blaming their parents for having been too protective and pampering. Do we take educational institutions merely as places to be visited in return of money for buying degrees? Does education mean only that? In this framework, how can we expect a teacher to be sensitive, responsive and guiding force for students? The basic principle of human learning is that one learns through reward and punishment. When a child is repeatedly rewarded for a particular act, he/she does it again and again. But when an act is every time followed by punishment, one is likely to avoid doing it. Imagine a world where there is no punishment at all! After all, how will our children learn to distinguish between right and wrong if not through reward and punishment? The principles of equality, democracy and human rights need to be understood in the right perspective. None of these can be appropriately understood in isolation. There is no fundamental right granted in the Constitution of India that is absolute. Every right, whether fundamental or otherwise, has to be exercised with restrictions so that all can enjoy their human rights. Let us not twist the valuable principles of democracy, freedom and liberty to suit our narrow personal vested interests, at least for our young children who must be taught what it means to be democratic, free and liberal in the right sense. The same would apply to teachers, too. I strongly believe that teaching is very different from all other professions for it bestows an authority upon the teacher to influence his students to the very core. It is not merely the words that a teacher communicates to the students that are internalised by the latter, but more than that it is the behaviour and the character of the teacher that is persistently imbibed by the students in an extremely spontaneous and gradual manner. A teacher cannot enforce punctuality among his students by force, if he himself is never on time. A teacher can never receive discipline from his students without a self-discipline exercised by him. It is all the more important that as a teacher, he knows how to handle personal freedom, liberty and human rights. A teacher who exudes bias can never expect fairness from students. Thus, a society that does not know how to handle the values of democracy, equality, freedom and human rights is likely to create havoc by misusing them. It is time that we stop using these principles in an unrestricted sense, especially in the context of education, so that our next generation learns how to handle them right. As parents, students and teachers, we need to curtail our comfort zones, so that education is rendered sustainable. The writer is Professor and Chairperson, Department of Sociology and Department of Women’s
Studies and Development, Panjab University, Chandigarh
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Cultural activity helps improve pupils’ creativity
A
new Scottish government research has found that people are more likely to take part in cultural activities as adults if they are encouraged to participate as children. Also, youngsters who are encouraged to read for pleasure are more than twice as likely to read as an adult. Analysis of the 2007-8 Scottish Household Survey Culture Module found that children who play musical instruments, act, dance or sing are three times more likely to engage in creative activity such as art, writing and performing when they grow up. “We know that culture and creativity deliver significant benefits for the people of Scotland to our well-being, our communities and our economy,” the Scotsman quoted Culture minister Fiona Hyslop, as saying. “We want to build on our successes, such as our world-leading creative industries which generate 5.2 billion pounds each year for the Scottish economy. “We now have tangible evidence of a link between childhood experiences of culture and adult participation in creative activity,” said Hyslop. Hislop said that collaboration between education and culture was the key to equipping children with essential creative skills. She added: “As this research examined the impact of out-of-school cultural activity, it clearly demonstrates the importance of providing opportunities outside the classroom for children to access cultural experiences. “This is a responsibility for all of us, not just those involved in the provision of culture but parents as well.” Aberdeen, Fife and Midlothian have all proposed plans to cut music tuition to pupils with teachers threatening to strike over cuts proposals in the city. However, a spokesman for the Educational Institute of Scotland said: “In light of these research findings it is deeply regrettable that much of the cultural activity, particularly music instruction, that takes place in our schools is under threat from the budget-cutting agenda.” “Being exposed to cultural activity such as music during school offers young people a great deal which they take with them and enjoy throughout their lives. “Cultural activity has a profound impact on pupils’ social skills, confidence and creativity which can stand them in good stead throughout their post-school careers,” he added.
— ANI
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Campus Notes THE university has dispatched the admit cards (roll numbers) to all the eligible candidates appearing in the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) scheduled to be held on December 26. According to the UGC-NET coordinator, the admit cards of all the candidates who have applied for the Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, center (Code No. 72), have been dispatched. However, the candidates who have not received their admit cards should contact the officer in charge (UGC-NET) from December 21 to 24. Meanwhile, MDU has established 21 examination centers for the UGC-NET examination. Necessary arrangements are also being made for the smooth conduct of the examination.
Rs 54-lakh grant for CBT The Centre for Biotechnology (CBT) of Maharshi Dayanand University has been selected under the FIST programme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology of Government of India. According to Prof. S. K. Gakhar, Director, CBT, a grant of Rs 54 lakh has been sanctioned to the CBT under the FIST programme. Out of this amount, Rs 45 lakh will be used for the purchase of sophisticated modern equipment, while about 5 lakh for setting up of computer laboratory, and Rs 4 lakh for the purchase of books.
National seminar held A two-day national seminar on "Eliminating Daughters: Paradox of Development of India" was organised by the Women's Studies Centre of the university recently. The seminar was held in collaboration with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) North West Regional Centre, Chandigarh. Apart from the main theme, the sub-themes of "Development and Gender Inequality: Theoretical Perspective", "Social, Economic and Cultural Dimensions and Girl Child", "Sex Selective Technologies and Foeticide" and "Regulation and Responsibility: Role of State and Civil Society" were discussed at the seminar. Pt. B. D. Sharma University of Health
Sciences, Rohtak The Annual National Conference of the Indian College of Anesthesiologists (ICACON-2010) was organised here recently by the Department of Anesthesiology of the Pt. B. D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak. The conference was inaugurated by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. About 350 delegates from all over the country attended the conference. Speaking on the occasion, Hooda said anesthesiologists played a crucial role in complete care of patients undergoing different surgical procedures. He said very few people were aware of the fact that the responsibility of well-being of a patient during a surgery laid squarely on the anesthesiologist. The conference started with academic sessions comprising lectures and presentations on "Recent Trends and Challenges in Anaesthesia". The students pursuing studies in the field of anesthesia from various colleges all over the country presented their works through posters and presentations. According to Dr Sarla Hooda, organising secretary, Dr G. Parmeshvara from Banglore, Dr Chandralekha from AIIMS, Dr P.L. Gautam from DMC, Ludhiana, and Dr Chaturvedi from AFMC, Pune, were among the main visiting delegates who delivered lectures on various aspects of anesthesia. — Contributed by Bijendra Ahlawat
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