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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
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One man, many passions Hard lessons for private schools as recession bites Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
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One man, many passions A team from Vasant Valley School, New Delhi, will participate in the prestigious Sondhi Debates Challenge Cup 2012 to be held from September 14 to 17 in Lahore, Pakistan. This year being the silver jubilee of Lahore College of Arts and Sciences (LACAS) will make the event more special.
The Sondhi cup is organised annually since 2009 by LACAS in memory of Prof. G. D. Sondhi, an eminent educationist and the first Indian principal of the prestigious Government College, Lahore (1939-1945). He was also the founding father of the Lahore Open-Air Theatre, Lawrence Gardens, in
1940. As an undergraduate at Cambridge, Prof. Sondhi was a keen sportsman and a double blue in hockey and athletics. He remained a champion of all sports, especially hockey. He took the Indian hockey team to Los Angles, USA, in 1932 and to Berlin, Germany, in 1936, where iconic players like Jafar and Dara dazzled the spectators with their skills at dribbling and steering the ball through all
defences. At the London Olympic Games in 1948, Dara was the captain of the Pakistan hockey team and Prof. Sondhi was also there as the Indian representative to the International Olympic Committee. When he saw Dara, he walked across the field and publically embraced him. For Prof. Sondhi, it was a spontaneous act of joy at meeting Dara, with whom he had shared the pride of victories at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. Professor Sondhi belonged to the times when people were not seen through religious eyes but seen just as fine human beings. But by 1948, people were marked as Hindu and Muslim, so Prof. Sondhi publically embracing Dara raised many an
eyebrow. Professor Sondhi was a man dedicated to giving young men and women opportunities through recreation to help them find their inherent creative talent. He was the moving spirit behind the West Asian Games, held in Delhi, way back in 1934, when the Palestine team also proudly marched in with its flag! Though that event was not repeated, the Asian Games came to fruition in 1953, when they were first held in Delhi. It was Prof Sondhi who proposed the formation of the Asian Games Federation at the 1948 London Olympics to organise the Asian Games every four years. He remained the Indian representative to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) until he passed away in
1966. Theatre was another passion in the Prof. Sondhi’s life. The beautiful Open-Air Theatre (OAT) in the Lawrence Gardens was his brainchild. Many plays were performed by young actors and actresses, classical dancers such as Ram Gopal. The New Shakespeare Theater staged Richard II, The Tempest and The Taming of the Shrew at the OAT. Having such a theatre enabled so much dramatic and artistic talent to come
forth. Professor Sondhi also made a smaller open-air theatre exclusively for the students of Government College. This dovetailed with the Government College Dramatic Club (GCDC). The GCDC was one of the leading artistic collegiate societies of Lahore. Professor Sondhi had been part of the society as a student, teacher and principal. Fortunately, for Lahore this society continued to flourish under succeeding principles. The annual play used to be a gala event attended by enthusiastic students and prominent public
figures. The diversity of his interest and his ability to translate his vision into reality are reflected into his planning gardens, sports, drama and debates. He was also a keen hunter and an excellent flying shot. All in all, he was a sub-continental Renaissance
man. The Sondhi cup is a legacy of his belief in the creative potential in young people. The event for the past three years has brought together young men and women in an intellectually challenging and invigorating activity, where ideas and communication skills replace prejudice and
violence. The Sondhi cup was instituted by Sonnu Rahman in memory of her father Prof. Sondhi. Rahman, 86, is a pioneer of parliamentary-style debate in Pakistan. She has also been honoured for her contribution to academia by having a debating competition named after her, the Sonnu Rahman All-Pakistan Under 17 Debates Championship. She teaches world history at A-level institutions in Lahore. Her daughter Tahira Anwar is a lecturer of sociology and psychology.
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Hard lessons for private schools as recession bites GOSFIELD School in Halstead, near Braintree in Essex, is cutting its junior school fees by between 18 and 40 per cent when it opens its doors to its 200 pupils next Wednesday. Gosfield believes it is the first independent school to slash its fees on this scale. At entry level, parents will be paying £1,500 a term for their four- or five-year olds, down 40 per cent on the £2,480 they paid
previously. Parts of the private-school sector in the UK are currently going through a time of crisis as parents struggle to pay the fees. Some schools will be tempted to increase their charges. Others, like Gosfield, will try other
strategies. One headmaster says: “I know of quite a few schools which have gone down considerably on numbers. There are going to be a lot of closures and mergers. Some will become co-eds, rather than being
single-sex.” Neil Roskilly, the chief executive of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), says: “Private-school pupil numbers have mostly held up, with London and the south-east being largely immune from the recession, particularly where pressure for places is historically strong. However, isolated small schools (often single-sex) in the regions have certainly felt the pinch and many of these are hoping to just ride out the
recession.” Private schools are already shutting down. Oakfield School in Woking announced that it was closing near the start of the summer holidays, leaving parents only a month to find places for their children this
term. Schools are regarded by banks just like other businesses, and loans are being called in, which is forcing some schools to sell off property assets and, in a few cases, to
close. RBS is seen as being “the worst offender” by the ISA. “They’ve got about 10 schools on their hit list that we are aware of,” Roskilly
says. RBS denies that it is anti-school, believing that it may show up more often in statistics than other banks only because it has a larger market
share. “We are very supportive of this sector,” a spokesman says. “We have specialist managers to help schools if they do get into trouble. That’s free of charge. But this sector is suffering. School fees come from households’ discretionary spending, and that gets looked at in the
downturn.” So what can parents do to avoid financial problems in paying fees? First, they should recognise that many others are struggling and that head teachers would much rather hear about the problem in advance than on the eve of a
default. “A lot of the meetings I have with parents now are to do with the recession,” says Ian Daniel, the head of Rushmoor School, which has more than 300 pupils aged two to 16 in
Bedford. He is clear that he would rather be forewarned about any problems. “Making parents feel at ease in the school is important,” he says. “Parents are more likely to open up and be honest about the situation they are in if they are at
ease.” James Wilding, the academic principal of Claires Court School in Maidenhead, believes parents may need to mix state and private education, rather than trying to educate all their children privately for their entire school
careers. “The majority of our families are using a mixed menu,” he says, referring to the 1,000 three- to 18-year-olds who attend Claires
Court. Parents can also ask for bursaries or for different payment arrangements in order to stagger their fees. “We often find ourselves having to support someone through the last year of primary school or GCSE,” says
Wilding. Similarly, Catherine Mawston, the head of Dodderhill School, for 220 three- to 16-year-olds near Droitwich Spa, says: “We are very
sympathetic.” For instance, on fees of about £9,000 a year, Dodderhill has allowed some parents who were made redundant to pay just £100 a month on a temporary basis while they looked for a new
job. Back at Gosfield School, principal Dr Sarah Welch hopes the cut in junior school fees is only the start. Could fees be reduced in the senior school
too? “We’d love to be in a position to do that,” she says. “That will depend on how our numbers continue to rise.”— The Independent
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Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar THE Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, has awarded a project, “Nutrition and Bone Health of Women in Punjab: A Community Study”, to Dr Shweta Shenoy of the Department of Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy of Guru Nanak Dev University. The collaborative project between the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology, Chandigarh, and the university is worth Rs 29 lakh. Dr Shweta said Verka, Majitha and Chabbal villages of the region had been short-listed for conducting research on bone health of women folk under this project. The bone health of rural women is very poor irrespective of age because of ignorance, poor diet, stress, lack of exercise and financial reasons which result in osteoporosis disease, said Dr Shweta. Osteoporosis is a disorder of bones wherein bones loses strength and become fragile. “The number of osteoporosis individual is projected to increase to 36 million people by 2013. The fragile bones increase the risk of serious fractures which are associated with high mortality and morbidity. The research will focus on rural women lifestyle only and later the collected data will also be compared with urban women lifestyle. To conduct study in these villages, a portable unit will be purchased and properly standardised to find correct data,” she
said.
Symposium held
The Centre on Studies in Sri Guru Granth Sahib of the university organised a symposium to commemorate Prakash Divas of Sri Guru Granth Sahib at Guru Nanak Bhawan here recently. Joginder Singh Vedanti, a former Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib and renowned scholar of Gurbani, who was the chief guest, spoke about the importance of Gurbani canonisation and significance of grammar for the interpretation of Gurbani. He encouraged young scholars to take up different subjects, so that the message of Gurbani could reach everywhere in the world. Dr Inderjit Singh, Registrar, said the message of great Gurus needed to be spread all over the world, as it was still relevant in the present era. He said only the “Bani” of Guru Granth Sahib could brought peace in the world. In his lecture, Dr Balwant Singh Dhillon dwelt in detail on the process of canonisation and social relevance of the message of Guru Granth Sahib. He specifically brought out the Sikh scripture's relevance to some of the modern-day problems, such as interfaith relations, moral degeneration in public life, ecological imbalance and environmental pollution. The centre is also collaborating with American India Foundation and the University of California at Berkeley to record oral history of Sikhs.
Analysing biological data
In this era of globalisation, need of the hour is to make maximum use of infrastructure, equipment, strengthen student-teacher relationships and encourage international collaborations to bring new innovations in the research field. This was stated by Prof. Ajaib Singh Brar, Vice-Chancellor, while inaugurating a UGC-sponsored workshop on “Analysis of Biological Data” held on the university campus recently. Professor Brar said science was much developed during recent times and there was a revolution in various disciplines of sciences. “Keeping in view all these changes, we are trying to set up international-level infrastructure and equipment to be centrally placed and accessible to all researchers,” he said. He also exhorted students to avoid the cramming habit as it hampers creativity. “Science is a subject which requires logic to understand it. Similarly, student-teacher interaction is a must,” he said. Professor Brar said Guru Nanak Dev University was trying to sign more memoranda of understanding with various international bodies so that international-level research could be done at university
labs.
Recruitment test on Sept 16
The niversity will conduct a written test for the appointment of clerk-cum-junior data entry operator on September 16 at 10 am on its campus. According to Dr Inderjit Singh, Registrar, admit cards to all the eligible candidates will be sent individually. Those candidates who do not receive the admit card till September 11 can collect it personally from the Deputy Registrar (Establishment) on September 12 and 13, he said. The eligible candidates need to bring two passport-size attested photographs along with required documents to get a duplicate admit card, he added. The list of eligible candidates will appear shortly on the university website
www.gndu.ac.in.
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The Sondhi Debates Challenge Cup is a befitting tribute to the first Indian principal of the prestigious Government College, Lahore