Jalandhar, November 23
The vital school mapping plan in the district has received a shot in its arm with the DGSE adding an additional 450 to 500 education providers.

Even though the RTE Act has been enforced in the state since 2011, one of the vital elements of the act, the school mapping project, had so far remained uninitiated. While it was started this year, ahead of the March 2015 deadline of the RTE Act, it just missed its November 20 deadline owing to the shortage of staff. However, with the provision of an additional 500 education providers, the project is bound to gain momentum.

Notably, the prime objective of the school mapping plan is to collect accurate information regarding the number of out-of-school children, in-school children, drop-outs and regular school-going children in the district between ages - six to fourteen. But in the district (same situation prevailed in the state), so far no mapping has been done. The ongoing survey – being conducted from door-to-door, shall for the first time throw vital light on the number of children in the district who need to be admitted to schools or whose school going needs to be regularised.

While as per stats recorded as per an NCLP survey conducted in 2013, there were 9,710 out-of-school children in the district of whom a total of 2,025 children were ones who were neither going to school, nor pursuing child labour, the rest 7,685 children were actively pursuing child labour. Meanwhile, the total children admitted to primary schools in 2013 were recorded to be 55,944. However, presently the numbers of both in and out of school children are expected to have substantially increased, which facilitates the need for the government to have an accurate knowledge of the present situation before the March 2015 deadline of the RTE Act arrives.

Once the mapping is finished, the government shall have ready stats of the present day situation of in-school and out-of-school children in the district from the ages of 6 to 14.

While this year, November 20 had been fixed as the deadline for the project, it had been missed due to the shortage of staff, which was first allocated to carry out the project.

Even as initially, only about 300 EGS/AI (ETT)/STR volunteers in the state had been deputed to conduct the mapping project, a fresh letter issued by the DGSE on November 20, has, provided the additional 500 workforce.

To speed up the process, an additional force of surplus teachers in the education department can also be used by the government.

Sources in the department said the work will be completed by the first week of December. “We will have the comprehensive information of all students in the district who need to be out to school. This will help the department pursue both out-of-school students and drop outs to be mainstreamed in education.” 

Jalandhar, November 23
Terming the behaviour of the police lethargic in dealing with the cases of rape and kidnapping of girls, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) today burn the effigies of state government at the Reru chowk.

BSP spokesperson Balwinder Kumar, who led the protest, alleged that rising incidents of rape and kidnapping has been creating fear among the people.

BSP leaders spoke about two recent cases include a rape with Banga based girl and kidnapping of a minor girl in Jalandhar in which role of police was not satisfactory.

In Banga rape case, BSP leaders alleged that accused had managed to slip from the custody of the police due to their lethargic approach. Accused was allowed to flee from the custody because the police was hand in glove with the accused. Similarly, in a kidnapping of minor girl, a month has passed; the police have still failed to trace the girl and the accused youth. 

Jalandhar, November 23
"I came here two years ago with my family from Nepal and since then picking rags in the city for which my father pays me Rs 5 everyday," said 10 years old Sunil collecting waste along with two other minor girls over the BMC flyover on Saturday. When asked as to whether Sunil is his real name, he smiled shyly and said that the name doesn't matter in the work he is doing.

Although Sunil claimed that he had come to Punjab along with his family, his revelation of getting Rs 5 everyday besides boarding and lodging hints towards the possibility of a child trafficking network being operated in the rag pickers community. Although an unorganised sector, it plays an important role by contributing almost 70 per cent share in the segregation of solid waste in the city. However now, the implementation of the project in the city has left them aghast as they are considering it as a big jolt to their 'scrap' business.

"We work in a group of two or three people and have identified few places in the city from where we picks useful wastes like plastic, cardboard and iron scrap in a day," said Baandhini, a 8-year-old girl. She also informed that around 2,000 such children from Bihar, Nepal and Uttrakhand are living in Qazi Mandi and into the rag picking business since years. "I have heard that now there will be no open garbage system in the city. My family is a worried lot and has started looking for other options to earn our living," said Baandhini.

Another rag picker Sunita hailing from Bihar informed that she starts her day at 6 in the morning and collect useful waste up till 5 pm and hands it over to her uncle whom the junk dealer pays Rs 100 for 5 kg. "He sometimes gives me Rs 5 to Rs 10 to eat something," said Sunita. She came to the city along with her uncle after her parents died due to HIV/AIDS last year. When asked, if given a chance, would she like to study in a school, she refused firmly. She also informed that many at times, some people used to offer her 'good life' in their homes for the household work, she did not go with them due to strictness of her uncle.

Many children mostly girls under the age of 12 years could be seen collecting rags from various dumps across the city. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has also accepted the fact said despite the enforcement of the Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, which promises their welfare, the harassment of and discrimination against the rag pickers have not dwindled.

Shockingly, these minor girls could be seen picking up rags openly but the administration has not made any efforts to rehabilitate them so far. Being an unorganized sector, the city police have also failed to identify whether these children have come with their families or have been brought through a child trafficking network. Now, with the implementation of the solid waste management in the city, a possibility of these children pushing into any other illegal trade in near future could not be ruled out. 

Jalandhar, November 23
A meeting was held by the Master Cadre Union Punjab under state head Gurpreet Singh Riar ahead of a rally to be held in Mohali on Monday.

Teachers announced that in protest against the government’s notification to being master cadre teachers from grade A to C, teachers will hold a state-level rally at Mohali, which will include a show of strength by the 50,000 union mmebers.

Members and district heads of the union from across the state participated in the meeting today. Speaking on the occasion, the members said their prime demands were to get the step up of Rs 5,400, 5,700 and 600 grade pay regulated and to get it implemented from 1 January 2006, to get time bound promotions and to get the 2003 education policy implemented.

Members said the SSA/RMSA, CSS, 7654, 3442 teachers should be regularised after being brought under the ambit of the Education Department. Promoted head masters should be allotted a station soon, following which they should readily be given appointment letters.

Other demands included the promotions of master cadre to lecturer/head master, receipt of salaries being made regular. Union activists Gurpreet Singh Riar, Washington Singh, Harbans Lal, Baldev Singh Buttar, appealed to union members across the state to participate in the rally. Sukhwinder Pal, Rakesh Bhatti, Sunil Dutta, Madan Mand, Bahadar Singh, Amarjit were also present on the occasion. 

Jalandhar, November 23
After being plagued for years with problems such as shortage of raw material and rising worker wages due to shortage of skilled manpower, the limping sports goods industry in the city known to be the largest sports gear manufacturing hub in India seems to have taken the first step to go indigenous after the state government gave its nod for the skilled training center (STC) to be opened in the industrial area here in the city.

Although, the sports goods industry desperately required a research and development centre, the plan has not been materialised till date due to lack of interest by the state government and the lack of coordination amongst the sports goods manufacturers. Now, with the approval of the skilled training center, the government is now hoping to get the entire industry on board and plan its expansion by developing it in an advanced way.

Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav said, “Although the plan is in a very early phase but carries lot of potential in the near future. I am meeting various sports goods manufacturers and assessing their industry specific demands and challenges they are facing in the business. A feasibility report would then be prepared that will decide the further plan of the state government in setting up and functioning of the skilled training center here in the city.” However, sources have also informed that the state government is also looking for the feasibility to set up the skilled training center under some Central Government funded scheme.

Jalandhar, November 23
A Jalandhar-based activist, Amarjeet Singh Anand, has written to the administration of the Kapurthala requesting that the implementation of schemes for special children be introduced and state of a special home being run for special children in the district be reviewed.

Writing to the Deputy Commissioner of Kapurthala, the activist has demanded that the conditions of the Sukhjit Ashram (the only home for persons with intellectual disability, known as mental home) be improved since they have gone from bad to worse in the past few years.

Talking to The Tribune Anand said the condition and standards of special children at the ashram is of great concern. The letter says, “Had the administration, DSSO, SDM been concerned, in three decades, the condition would not have gone from bad to worse. Administration negligence and non implementation of National Trust Act 1999 and non working of LCC (Local Level Committee) is clearly present and the sorry fact is that unsuspecting, innocent children are victims of the lack of proper supervision of measures by the adminsration.”

Anand also demands implementation of schemes funded by the National Trust for day care, shelter homes etc.

Anand said the NT Act guardianship scheme and Nirmaya Health Scheme are not being take serious in the district due to which special children are languishing owing to lack of proper care.

The activist requests the administration to form a special committee besides a Local Level Committee involving person with disability (PwD) to submit their report for reconstitution of the home and also demands a proposal be sent to state government for additional funding of Rs 40 lakh for repairs and maintenance.

Anand also demands that Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan be asked to provide minimum five special educators and five teachers aides (helpers) in routine for giving curriculum as per there IQ as per RCI Act. A copy of the letter has also been marker to the Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, Jalandhar, State Disability Commissioner, Chandigarh, Minister, Social Justice, Child and Women Development Chandigarh, CEO, National Trust, New Delhi, and Director, SJ&E (Disability), New Delhi.

Jalandhar, November 23
The Punjab Student Federation (PSF) in a meeting condemned police action against protesting students of Punjabi University, Patiala. Besides this, the federation has extended their support to the protesting students.

State secretary of federation Ajay Phillaur said, “It is unconstitutional and highly condemnable that the police lathi charged peacefully protesting students.” He said the students have been protesting against the university’s decision to hike fee, where the police without any prior warning mercilessly beat up student, including girls.

He said the PSF unconditionally support the demands of students.

Apart from this, the PSF yesterday staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar and handed over a memorandum of demands to the DC regarding fee waiver of Dalit students under the Post Metric Scholarship Scheme. While addressing the gathering, federation representative Gurjinder Singh Randhawa said the scheme has got implemented following long struggle. Yet some colleges were reluctant to provide their dues to the Dalit students.