Message from Arun Bhatia case

THIS refers to the editorial “A significant judgement” (April 15). The verdict of the Bombay High Court in the Arun Bhatia case should be applauded by one and all as it sends clear signals to the bureaucracy to work in a free and fair manner without caring for political pressures.

It is a pity that the bureaucrats are forced to satisfy the whims of their political masters under the threat of transfer. Mr Arun Bhatia, who was frequently transferred from one place to other, showed real courage in sticking to his stand. His honesty and commitment to his duty made the masses rise in his favour and fight against his transfer.

Mr Bhatia has proved that being just honest is not enough. It is equally important to have a positive attitude and perform one’s duty sincerely. When Mr I.K. Gujral was the Prime Minister of India, he had said that by being honest, one shouldn’t take advantage of it to shirk one’s responsibilities. Today, another category of people is emerging who don’t believe in doing any work but maintaining their nuisance value by finding faults with other’s work.

Only he errs who works. Let us shed all fears and do our duty in a sincere manner.

JAGVIR GOYAL
Bathinda

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Appreciable stand

We appreciate The Tribune’s constant stand on the sufferings of students because of the frequent postponement of the undergraduate examinations by Panjab University. Our wards are really going into depression.

We make the following suggestions for the consideration of the authorities concerned.

At least 60 per cent seats in the Master of Computer Applications (MCA) course should be reserved for Chandigarh students as is the practice in the case of engineering, architecture and medical colleges in the Union Territory.

One month’s gap between the end of the examinations and the entrance test for MCA should be provided for proper preparation.

More than two seats should be reserved for the candidates who have studied the vocational subject for three years at the B.Sc level, for such a course was introduced as a job-oriented vocation at the behest of the University Grants Commission.

The announcement of these steps should be made forthwith to avoid the bad psychological impact on the students.

M.K. KAUL
Buta Singh and many others
Chandigarh

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PU exams: a clarification

This refers to your editorial “University blues” (April 4). The university has not been lax in holding the examinations. The postponement of the examinations has not been by choice but because of the circumstances forced upon the university.

For a fair conduct of the examinations involving over 1.16 lakh students up to the graduation level alone, at least 2,400 persons for supervisory duty, 180 examination centres and more than 2,700 rooms to seat the candidates are required. Out of the requisite 180 centres, 136 are in privately-managed colleges. Neither the required personnel nor the requisite premises have been made available this year as it used to be the case earlier, as a consequence of the stalemate between the Punjab government and the managements of the affiliated colleges.

The university has incurred an expenditure of Rs 3 lakh each time to print and despatch the datesheets twice already. Therefore, there is no question of the postponement of the examinations by choice. Indeed, the university is most worried about the future of lakhs of students being put in jeopardy by the delay in the examinations. It is earnestly hoped that the existing impasse between the Punjab government and the college managements will be resolved at the earliest and the careers of the students saved.

SANJIV TEWARI
DPR, Panjab University
Chandigarh

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Clash of test dates

Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, has announced May 30 as the date of its combined entrance test (CET-99) for admission to the various engineering colleges in Punjab. The ICAR has also announced the same date for its examination for agricultural engineering colleges. Due to the clash in the dates students from Punjab will suffer as they will not be able to appear in the entrance examination to be conducted by the ICAR.

Punjab Technical University should either shift the CET date or prevail over the ICAR to change the date of its entrance examination.

SAURABH TREHAN
Ludhiana