EDUCATION

School in ill health
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, July 8 — This is education — government style. Enter this school, if you are able to, that is, and if you are not electrocuted, consider yourself lucky, as you will have to pass through ankle-deep water right next to an electricity pole.

There before you, is the building of Government Senior Secondary School, Phase XI, the students of which are getting to learn not just their maths and science and history, but also how to pull weeds, cut grass, clean and wash toilets, make tea, wash utensils and carry messages as there are no peons, no safai karamcharis and no gardeners to do this work. What is worse, this school has no electricity and it has been in this state for more than ten years.

This school had come up in the last years of the 1980s in a vacant public park area on the demand of local residents. The strength of the school has increased and now there are more than three hundred students in the school. Two years back, this school was upgraded from a primary one to a secondary school. The Minister for Education, Mr Tota Singh, had also visited the school then.

The local residents, parents and school staff have sent innumerable requests to the authorities regarding the problems of the school, but no action has been taken to improve the situation. The condition of the school was also brought to the notice of the SDM, Mohali, who visited the school today as part of the two-day voter I-card making drive. The school Principal and the DPI (Schools) could not be contacted for comments.

In spite of all this, the parents and local residents are very satisfied with the working of the school staff and the level of education being imparted. It goes to the credit of the school teachers and the Principal, who continue to do work so well even in these conditions.

Parents, teachers blame each other for poor results
From Our Correspondent

DERA BASSI, July 8 — It is a controversy which has cropped up after the declaration of matriculation results. The parents are blaming the teachers for poor performance. Teachers, on the other hand, claim that their time is wasted in non-teaching works ordered by the government.

As many as 2159 candidates from 19 schools of this subdivision appeared in the matriculation examination conducted by the Punjab School Education Board in March, 2000. Of these, 715 passed and 427 were placed under compartment, while the rest were declared failed. In a nutshell, nearly 33.11 is the pass percentage.

With pass percentage of 6.33, the results of Government High School, Mukandpur, is the worst. In this school, out of 79 students, only five students could pass the examinations. The result of Government High School, Khelan, is the best with 70.83 pass percentage.

Parents blame the teachers for poor results. They allege that the teachers have not taken pain in teaching students from the very beginning of the academic session. Moreover, they even come late to schools and leave early.

“Majority of teachers are women, who reside in Chandigarh, Ambala, Panchkula, SAS Nagar, Rajpura, Patiala or elsewhere. They leave schools early, making excuse of taking buses to their respective destinations. Moreover, in winter and rains, they often remain on leave or come late to schools, which affects the studies of the students adversely,” alleged Mr Surinder Pal Singh of Jauli village.

He added, “Especially women teachers have contributed to poor results, who can be seen knitting and chatting, despite taking classes in duty hours,”

On the other hand, the teachers put parents responsible for bad results. They say parents press their children to domestic work despite directing them to do their homework. The main factors which lead to poor results are the absence of a permanent education policy, political interference and shortage of subject teachers. Moreover, the government takes non-teaching work from the teachers, without keeping in view the period of intensive studies, say the teachers of the vicinity.

Mr Jaswinder Nayer, a headmaster, claims that the parents often come to get their wards through to the next class. “Eighth and tenth level examinations are being conducted by the board and the parents have no say in seeing their wards clear the classes. This is another reason of poor results,” said Mr Nayer.

Roll numbers not received
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 8 — Panjab University counters witnessed a heavy rush on the eve of the entrance test for the Bachelor of Education course here today.

Aspirants who had come from Shimla, Jammu and Kashmir, Faridkot and other places and states said they had not received their roll numbers.

When asked why they had turned up at the university counters when university had earlier informed than that they should collect roll numbers from their respective centres, they said they had not received sufficient information in this regard. A local student said the information could not be received in areas other than the city as the news had appeared in local editions of newspapers only.

COURTS

Sodhi Ram’s remand extended
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, July 8 — Dr Sodhi Ram, former Controller of Examinations, Panjab University, and others allegedly involved in the question paper leakage case, were sent to further judicial remand by the Special Judge for CBI cases-cum-Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Lakhbir Singh. Dr Sodhi Ram’s bail plea had been rejected on July 4.

Dr Sodhi Ram was arrested by the CBI on June 9 for his alleged role in the leakage of question papers of B.Sc (III)-Honours, Department of Mathematics.

The other three involved in the case are Anurag Gupta and Sukhwinder Singh, senior students of the department, and Dhan Singh, a clerk in the Secrecy Branch.

They are alleged to have operated in a gang of persons in the leakage of the question papers back in May 1998.

CBI files challan against Jain
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, July 8 — The CBI today filed a challan in the alleged corruption case against Mr N. K. Jain, a former UT Home Secretary, in the court of Mr Justice Lakhbir Singh, Special Judge for the CBI cases and Additional District and Sessions Judge.

Jain, booked in a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act along with Superintendent K.B. Goel, had been arrested by the premier investigating agency after he had surrendered on May 9.

It was alleged in the FIR that Jain was operating in tandem with Goel to receive money from parties interested in the settlement of their cases pending before the Administration. Jain, it was also alleged, had dropped a charge sheet against Goel who had paid him Rs 25,000 for the purpose.