The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

EDUCATION

85 per cent B.Ed seats filled on day one
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — The interview-cum-counselling session for admission to B.Ed in all colleges of Punjab and the UT started at the Dev Samaj College for Education here today. As many as 85 per cent seats of UT education colleges, including the Dev Samaj College and Government College of Education, were filled today.

All seats in the science stream filled early and so did the seats in music, physical education and fine arts. The interviews for admission to all colleges of Panjab University, Guru Nanak Dev University and Punjabi University and for the 15 per cent seats in UT colleges will be held from tomorrow.

A total of 15 colleges come under the jurisdiction of Panjab University, including the colleges in Abohar, Ferozepore, Gursar Sudhar, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Lopon, Moga, Muktsar, Sidhwan Khurd and Moga, eight colleges from GND University, Amritsar and two colleges from Punjabi University, Patiala.

As many as 50,000 students had appeared for the entrance test for B.Ed against the 4,000 seats available all over Punjab and the UT.

Resentment prevails among students belonging to the general category against those candidates who are considered 'privileged' for being in the reservation category. They say that despite hard work, they are unable to get admission even if they get a higher rank.

‘Uniform syllabus needed in schools’
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — The state needs to have a uniform education policy and subject content for all children at the school level, said Mr Tota Singh, Education Minister of Punjab, while inaugurating a two-day seminar on ‘teaching subjects at the school level in view of future needs’ organised by the Punjab School Education Board at the ICCSR Complex, Panjab University, here, today.

Mr Tota Singh referred to the need of having a common board. The CBSE, ICSE and state boards need to deliberate on a common platform to have a uniform policy and subject content. English, needs to be introduced as a compulsory subject right from the primary level.

The edge that English has over other subjects in the existing scenario, particularly those wishing to pursue technical fields, needs to be given to all, Mr Tota Singh said.

The board was taking steps to stop copying and ‘outside help’. Five different sets of question papers for a class had drastically reduced cases of copying. More significant was the board’s action to punish the board officials concerned along with the candidate caught using unfair means.

There are approximately 12,900 schools. A thought needs to be given to the quantity of academic work needed according to age of the students. At present, we have children carrying heavy bags. One can witness children as young as three beginning to go to school, which was a little early, he said.

The Education Minister said parents needed to be attached with the education of their wards. This time, parents are expected to visit the school to know their ward’s performance , his weaknesses and steps that could improve the results, Mr Tota Singh added.

Dr Kehar Singh, Chairman of the PSEB, and Dr T.R. Sharma, former Chairman of the Department of Education, Punjabi University, Patiala, also addressed the gathering. A press note mentions developing a broad framework of curriculum at the central level and provide states with flexibility for local specificity and contextual realities.

One idea mentions integrating the latest information and innovations in various fields like information technology, environment education and other fields.

Responding to the phenomenon of globalisation, there is an urgent need for defining a new scope for old disciplines like history, geography, languages and sciences.

RSS leader addresses ABVP seminar
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — Mr Inderesh, senior leader of the RSS, in a seminar organised by Panjab University unit of the ABVP here today said the British had cleverly drafted policies that weakened our touch with the past. This threatened the national identity.

Mr Inderesh said that there were very few national identities at the turn of the century. Afghanistan was born in 1835, Nepal and Bhutan in 1902, Myanmar and Sri Lanka emerged in 1935, East and West Bengal came up in 1947 and Bangladesh in 1971.

Hyderabad and Junagarh needed a state action for keeping them in the Indian fold. The British mentioned "us as a country in the making" and not by any unified name.

Trees planted as arts college turns 50
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — To mark the beginning of the celebrations of the golden jubilee year of the Government College of Arts, Sector 10, Ms Vineeta Rai, Adviser to the Administrator, planted a gulmohar sapling in the college premises.

Ms Rai released the college magazine Chitrankan brought out to commemorate the occasion and appreciated the role of the college in imparting art education to the youth.

Chandigarh is one of the beautiful cities of the country and its aesthetics are unmatched. The presence of the college has further added fragrance to this environment, she added.

A large number of distinguished artists, including Baldev Raj Rattan, Kanwal Nain, Shiv Singh, R.D. Singla, S.L. Diwan, Malkit Singh, Balvinder Singh, Viren Tanwer, Mr Ramesh Malhotra, Satwanter Singh, Bheem Malhotra, Viney Vadhera and Ram Partap Verma, who have been associated with the college as faculty and students, were present on the occasion. They also planted saplings.

CULTURE

A starry evening wrapped in talent
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — The stars seemed to have descended upon the Tagore Theatre which was all glitter and glamour this evening.

A show surprised the gathering with its entertainment value, and as Tara Punjabi hunted for its two national anchors out of the promising 11, handpicked from all over the North, it was the audience which had a field day.

Yet another attraction of the of the evening was the panel of judges comprising Sufiana Hans, Shankar Sahney and Jaspal Bhatti. While the judges helped Tara search for substance in the performers who had to undergo three major rounds (free style, photostat and judges' choice), talent was unleashed on the stage even as the hall resounded with the sounds of applause almost without a break.

Among the final contestants who worked up their way out of the 800 initial entries received were Amrit Pal Singh, Nishant, Nidhi, Rajeev, Mitter, Arpana, Sanjeev, Satinder, Shruti, Anuj Sharma and Anupam. Out of the lot, three finalists are from Chandigarh.

It is pertinent to mention here that Tara Punjabi launched its anchor hunt programme on August 3 in Jalandhar, August 4 in Chandigarh and August 10 in Delhi. Sixteen persons were chosen out of whom 11 were short-listed last week.

The function took off to a wonderful start with the contestants introducing themselves in novel ways and baring their talent before the public in the round titled Free style, as it allowed each contestant to present an item of his choice. While almost everyone was promising, Nishant stood out right from the beginning when he mono-acted a small comedy in which a traffic hawaldaar looks fairly disappointed with the government's policy of regulating traffic through lights.

Other promising performance came from Satinder, the Batala girl, who won the hearts of audience with her plain yet powerful style. She looked very convincing as an anchor of a programme based on Punjabi folk songs. Most other contestants presented dance items. The dance presented by Anuj Sharma on the hot Hrithik Roshan number Sitaron ki mehfil mein gunjega tarana, ki aaya hai honthon pe dil ka fasana.....

The subsequent round was also interesting, with each contestant trying to present a copy of a famous character which could be a movie star, a TV actor or a comedian. In this Photostat round too, Nishant stole the show with the mimicry of Gulshan Grover, Sachin Tendulkar, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mika.

Chandigarh girl Arpana Sen chose to ape Ruby Bhatia in communication with Hans Raj Hans who was present at the show as one of the judges.

Yet another interesting item came from Sanjeev who mimicked the famous Basanti ki budi masi ne bhanji maar di Dharmendra scene from Sholay. Entertainment was taken further by Anupam who acted as the scorned Rekha in the Rakesh Roshan film Khoon Bhari Maang.

The function was still in progress after these two rounds which had to end with the selection of six finalists out of the present 11.

The anchor hunt apart, the show also had some great performances from Maninder Mahi, the man who sung the latest Punjabi craze number Hoya aakh naal aakh da ishara. The comedy sequence presented by the inseparable duo Bal Mukund Sharma and Jaswinder Bhalla was very hilarious

The budding artist

THESE days a number of organisations are holding summer workshops for children. But do the children gain by joining such workshops? “Definitely,” says Rajendra Saksena of SCL, whose nine-year-old daughter is learning painting in one of such classes. “Such workshops serve dual purpose for working parents. Apart from enhancings the knowledge of children and instilling in them a sense of self-confidence, they keep them active and busy. It also helps in taking a part of load off the minds of working parents”.

“Catch them young” is an old saying. Who knows today’s budding artists may become tomorrow’s M.F. Hussein, Manu Parekh or Satish Gujral. “I want to become a great artist when I grow up,” says Aarushi, a class III student of Sacred Heart School. She is very enthusiastic about special painting classes at a summer workshop. But can such short term training sessions be really useful?

“These workshops are not meant to teach each and every aspect of art to a child,” says Prem Singh, Principal of Government College of Arts. “These are meant to initiate a child into the realm of art, to stimulate him to express his free flowing ideas in the form of drawings and paintings.”

There is a basic difference between learning in school and learning in a workshop. In the former case, one has to adhere to the prescribed syllabus and maintain strict discipline. So, children feel happier in the relaxed atmosphere of a workshop. The teacher is friendlier and the taught enjoy the time spent in a workshop. A number of workshops are held in summer holidays every year. These may be considered as an extension of what is done in a school. However, it is the duty of the parents to check the capability of the instructor before their ward joins a workshop. An instructor with a good command over his subject, and a genuine interest in bringing out the best in the children, should be selected. A true artist realises that when he interacts with children, it is two-way traffic. There have been occasions when the teacher has learnt from the taught.

Every child (or for that matter, every human being) has an urge to express himself — through words or through visuals. Visuals constitute the first language of humans for which no formal education is required. This language is far more communicative than the language of words.

“I love painting” chirps five-year old Devina Aggarwal, “It is great fun, but I have to keep my paintings away from the reach of my little brother Vardaan. He is very naughty and spoils them in his attempt to paint himself.” “Every child, irrespective of his age, is an inborn artist. He is innocent and honest. The teacher needs vision and expertise to understand the psychology and sensibility of the child, and sensitives him to art, nature and his surroundings. A workshop is successful if it transforms children into better human beings,” says Prem Singh.

— Thakur Paramjit