Jammu, March 9
Despite handsome salaries to the 'well-qualified' schoolteachers and the state-of-the-art infrastructure from the tax payers' money, the performance of government-run schools in the state has been dismal as compared to private educational institutions over past one decade.

Official statistics speak for themselves. From 2003 to 2012, the state’s government-run schools had fared badly in the secondary school examinations for Class X, averaging 37.02 per cent as compared to an impressive 73.12 pass percentage in the state's private schools.

Similarly, private higher secondary schools up to Class XII had also outperformed the government-run institutions and the pass percentage of students enrolled in the government higher secondary schools was comparatively much lower than private schools.

“A total of 2,84,180 students from government schools had appeared for the Class X examination from the Jammu division, while the number of these students in the Kashmir division was 1,95,932 over the last ten years (from 2003 to 2012). Of these, 1, 03,446 students had qualified the examination in the Jammu division, while 95,462 students had qualified the examination from the Kashmir division for the same period. The overall pass percentage in both the divisions for government-run schools was 40.56 per cent, statistics reveal.

In contrast, the total number of students appeared in the secondary school examination (Class X) enrolled in private institutions was 2, 13,315 from the Jammu division and 2,12,586 in the Kashmir division over the past decade. “The overall pass percentage of students from private institutions for Class X examination was 72.38 per cent,” statistics reveal.

Even with limited infrastructure and manpower, private higher secondary schools had performed better than the government-run higher secondary schools equipped with better infrastructure and well-qualified and well paid teachers.

In the Jammu division, 2, 33,275 students from government schools appeared in Class XII examination over the past eight years from 2005 to 2012, while the number of such students from the Kashmir division was 3,30,264. The overall pass percentage for both the regions (35.75% from Jammu and 49.62% from Kashmir) was 42.68 per cent, official figures state.

As compared to the government-run schools, the results of private higher secondary schools were impressive whereas the overall pass percentage from both the divisions (Jammu and Kashmir) was 72.18 per cent, statistics state. In Jammu division, 77,466 students from private institutions had appeared for Class XII examination in last eight years while the number of such students from Kashmir division was 27,272 for the same period, statistics reveal.

Sources said the Department of School Education had issued several directives to the principals and the teachers of the government-run schools warning them that their increments would be withheld for poor performance.

“All measures to improve the standard of education in government schools have failed to yield results, notwithstanding the liberal funds to raise infrastructure in these institutions and handsome monthly emoluments to well-qualified teachers,” education department official said.

Nearly 18,000 posts of teachers had been lying vacant in government schools across the state, while 4,000 schools comprising 3,202 primary schools, 773 middle schools, 51 high schools and four higher secondary schools don't have buildings.

Jammu, March 9
Minister for Roads and Buildings, Abdul Majid Wani, today ordered action against several officials, including the Deputy Director of the department of Roads and Buildings , Stores and Procurement Division, Jammu, absent from duty, during a surprise visit today.

He found that minimum cement reserves were not being maintained in the stores. Against the total capacity of 2, 40,000 cement bags, only 1,200 cement bags were available.

He was informed that despite taking up the matter with suppliers, they had failed to supply the required quantity of cement due to which working of all divisions had been severely affected. The minister also ordered an immediate enquiry into the matter and asked for necessary action against both the store procurement officials and local suppliers.

Ransoo, March 9
The three-day Shiv Khori mela got underway at Ransoo, the base camp of the holy cave shrine of Shiv Khori, 130 km from Jammu here today. Minister for Housing, Horticulture and Culture, Raman Bhalla, inaugurated the festival amidst prayers and religious festivities. The mela is being organised by the State Tourism Department, Shiv Khori Shrine Board and the district administration, Reasi.

A colourful procession dedicated to Lord Shiv was also taken out today. A large number of cultural troops from Reasi also took part.

MLC Jugal Kishore Sharma, DIG, Udhampur-Reasi range, Jagjit Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, (Vice- Chairman, SSKSB) Nirmal Sharma, SSP, Reasi, Raghubir Singh, Joint Director Tourism, Shiv Kumar Gupta, Mela Officer, RK Anand, Board Members besides senior officers of all other departments, prominent people from Ransoo and thousands of pilgrims were present on the occasion.

Greeting people on the occasion of Maha Shivratri tomorrow, Bhalla prayed for communal harmony, peace and prosperity in the state. He said Shiv Khori Shrine was bestowed with serenity, the spiritual manifestation of which could be experienced at the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine. He said due to the efforts of the SSKSB and the Department of Tourism, number of pilgrims visiting the cave shrine had reached 20 lakh. He hoped the destination would emerge as a famous pilgrim destination on the tourist map of India.

Bhalla said special efforts were being made to divert the rush of pilgrims from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine to other tourist and pilgrimage destinations in the state. For the purpose a comprehensive tourist circuit connecting various destinations having tourism potential was being chalked out, he added.

MLC Jugal Kishore also greeted the people on the festival of Maha Shivratri. He said after the constitution of Shiv Khori Shrine Board, the famous shrine of Lord Shivs had witnessed a huge influx of pilgrims from different parts of the country.

He said the government was committed to develop this shrine and various facilities had been added for the pilgrims visiting the shrine.

The Joint Director Tourism highlighted the developmental activities taken up in the area to facilitate the yatris.

A colourful devotional-cultural programme was also presented. Various social and religious organisations have made arrangements for langars for pilgrims at various locations of the base camp and enroute the cave shrine.

Rajouri, March 9
The district police today questioned six persons, including five students of Government High School, Dalogra, for their alleged involvement in stealing school furniture and stationery items. Sources said following a complaint filed at Rajouri police station about theft at High School, Dalogra, on the outskirts of Rajouri yesterday, the police grilled five students on the suspicion of the school authorities.

Sources claimed the children had confessed to their involvement in the conspiracy plotted by Parveez Ahmed Khan, who is running Khan General Store at Dalogra. The children said Khan had provoked them to steal school stationery.

The police has also recovered three ceiling fans and stationery items belonging to Dalogra High School. No case had been lodged till the filing of the report. DIG, Rajouri-Poonch Range, Danish Rana said, “We are investigating the case and no arrests have been made so far.” — OC

Batote, March 9
The SSP Traffic, National Highway, and his driver were among eight persons injured in a head-on collision with a taxi on the highway at Dhalwas in Chanderkot today. No case was registered in this regard.

The driver of the official car of SSP, Virender Sharma, collided head-on with a Jammu-bound taxi while trying to pass a stationary minibus on a curve near the junction of Nashri by-pass road. The SSP was on his way to office in Ramban.

The SSP, his driver Ravi Kumar, taxi driver Farooq Ahmed Dar and six persons traveling in the taxi escaped with minor injuries. Ravi and one of the passengers of the taxi were administered first-aid at a hospital in Batote.

Although the cops from Chanderkot did visit the spot in presence of this reporter yet no case (FIR) was registered and a compromise was reached.

Jammu, March 9
Minister for Higher Education Muhammad Akbar Lone today attached the Principal of Government College of Engineering and Technology (GCET), Jammu, for not complying with the orders regarding shifting of college campus to the new building within a month.

Lone visited the Government College of Engineering and Technology (GCET), Jammu, Government Degree College, Paloura and Government College of Education, Jammu, also took stock of the functioning of these colleges.

He also checked the attendance of the staff of these colleges and interacted with management, faculty and students.

Taking a serious view of the non-compliance of the orders within a month, the Minister ordered the attachment of GCET, Jammu, principal with the Nodal Principal Science College, Jammu, with immediate effect. He also issued instructions to handover the charge of the Principal to the next senior-most professor.

During his visit to the Government Degree College, Paloura, the minister visited various examinations centres set up in the college. He was informed that the college had been established in 2008 and 537 students were enrolled in various courses at the college.

At the Government College of Education, Jammu, the minister checked the attendance register and found a Master, Reeta Sharma, absent from duty. He instructed the college principal to seek an explanation from the Master and submit a report. He also inspected the classrooms and interacted with the students and the teaching staff.

During the visit, the minister instructed the authorities to maintain the attendance register of the staff as well as the students and ensure that no staff member would remain absent adding that habitual absentees would have to face to stern action. Director Colleges, Dr Nalni Kohli, accompanied him.

Rajouri, March 9
Rotary Club, Rajouri, has once again come forward to save a minor by adopting him for an open heart surgery at AIIMS, Delhi, and bearing all the expenses of his treatment.

The minor, Kartik Kumar (4), son of Mabohar Lal, a resident of Androlla, District Rajouri, was suffering from cardiac disease since birth. Due to lack of funds the family was unable to bear the cost of the treatment.

The family then approached the club's project "gift of life". They met Lokesh Bakshi, president of the club at Rajouri.

Lokesh, while talking to mediapersons here on Saturday, said the club, under its project ‘gift of life’, sends minor children with heart ailments for surgery at AIIMS, New Delhi, and bears all the expenses.

The parents of the child expressed their gratitude towards the club for this noble initiative.

Prominent among those who were present in the send off ceremony included KK Langar, Rakesh Gupta, Sanjay Puri, Amardeep Singh, Saboor Malik, Tanveer Choudhary and Sadik Khan.

Jammu, March 9
The Department of Cooperatives today organised a programme for distribution of the cheques sanctioned by the government in favour of the cooperative societies of Jammu district.

Minister of State for Cooperatives and Fisheries Dr Manohar Lal Sharma was the chief guest on the occasion while MLA Marh Choudhary Sukhnandan was the guest of honour.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister exhorted upon stake-holders to work with honesty, diligence and devotion to make all the societies profitable. He emphasised on the need to imbibe the modern techniques for making the cooperative sector economically viable.

Manohar Lal hoped that the societies would utilise the amounts judiciously and increase their business activities to generate employment.

Later, he distributed cheques worth Rs 30.85 lakh among 50 societies of the district, as financial aid in the shape of managerial subsidy and assistance managerial subsidy.

Jammu, March 9
Local Army authorities averted a major fire incident near Udhampur on March 6 when a bitumen mixing plant of a road widening agency caught fire. No loss of life or property was reported thanks to the quick response of the Army.

On the morning of March 6 a frantic call was received from the Project Manager of AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd, which is the executing agency for the widening project of the Kashmir highway.

The Army spokesperson said bitumen leak was the reason behind the fire at the plant which had also caused an explosion in one of the containers of chemicals kept there,” an Army spokesperson said.

The entire plant caught fire, he said. Captain Varinder Singh, the Fire Officer of 1 FOD, mobilised the fire crew and the fire brigade was called in. The site of the fire was 2-3 km from 1 FOD, the spokesperson said.

On reaching the site, civilians trapped in the building were rescued.

The plant was shut down completely and the blaze was doused using foam drums, he added.

Jammu, March 9
A day-long workshop on Career Counselling was held at Bhartiya College of Education, Udhampur, in collaboration with the District Employment and Counselling Center. About 300 students of the college attended the workshop, which was organised to make them aware, for better placement in different professional fields after completing their studies.

The students were also apprised of different programmes and schemes being introduced by the Government for self-employment of educated youth.

Yash Paul, District Coordinator, Sunil Sharma, HoD, DIET Udhampur, Anil Sharma, District Informatics Officer and CL Sharma, District Horticulture Officer, delivered lectures in different fields and also interacted with the students.

The proceedings of the above workshop were carried out by Sandeepa Chib.

Jammu, March 9
Police Training School (PTS)-B scripted a 15-run win over Wizard Cricket Club (WCC) to secure a berth in the final of the ongoing Kathua Premier League Twenty20 Tournament, being played at Sports Stadium, Kathua.

Batting first after winning the toss, Police Training School -B set a target of 159 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Sanjay played an unbeaten innings of 25 runs off 16 deliveries for PTS-B while Lokesh and Showkat contributed 23 and 15 runs respectively. From Wizard Cricket Club, Varun was the most successful bowler with three wickets. Bhanu took one wicket.

In reply, Wizard Cricket Club exhausted their quota of 20 overs by managing 143 runs for the loss of nine wickets. Sujay Sharma played a fighting knock of 22-ball 29 while Ajay contributed 13-ball 23.

From Police Training School -B, Showkat snared three wickets by giving away 24 runs while Varun took one wicket. Showkat was adjudged the man of the match. The match was officiated by Anoop Sharma and Ram Lubaya as umpires while Sheetal was the score keeper.

Jammu, March 9
The Jammu and Kashmir Bank today stormed into the final of the on-going 2nd All-India Prize Money Football Championship, by beating Raj Milk FC by 2-1 in the second semifinal at the Pataliputra Sports Complex, Bihar.

Substitute striker Amer Jan scored the winning goal for the visiting team with a beautiful header by dodging the rival team’s custodian Raj Malik. Both teams were locked at 1-1 at halftime.

Earlier, J&K Bank skipper Sheikh Rizwan struck in the 32nd minute after getting a pass from the left flank from Aman Thapa to give his team an early lead. Raj Milk FC drew parity in 44th minute as the Nigerian star Afdullahzeez Musa Usman dribbled past two defenders to put the ball in the goal post.

J&K Bank will now take on the State Bank of Trivancore (Bangalore) in the summit clash to, be played on March 10.

Jammu, March 9
Sher-e-Punjab will take on PDC (B) while Young Rovers will face J&K Forest in the semifinals of the on-going 3rd Rajiv Gandhi Gold Cup Football Tournament, being organised by the All J&K Indira Gandhi People’s Association in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) at GGM Science College Football Ground here.

In the quarterfinal played today, J&K Forest got the better of NGR Club by 7-0 goals. Aashiq of J&K Forest drew the first blood in the 40th minute.

In the second half, J&K Forest forwards intensified their efforts to stretch the lead further and got success.

Toufeeq of J&K Forest scored the second goal in the 60th minute followed by Shahid in the 62nd minute, to make it 3-0.

After three minutes of the third goal, Zameer scored a beauty in the 65th minute while Rizwan struck in the 67th minute to virtually bring the curtains down for the rival team. Toufeeq again bounced back and scored two goals in the 70th and 74th minutes respectively.

Two yellow cards were also shown to Aman of NGR Club in the 20th minute and Toufeeq of J&K Forest in the 25th minute.

The match was officiated by Moon Stephen, Sohan Lal, Vijay Kumar and Gagan Kumar. The match was watched by MS Baba, Chief Sports Officer, Sports Council, Zameel Thakur, President, the J&K Football Association (JKFA), Fiaz Ahmed, Mohan Lal, Romesh Kumar and Yousuf Don.