The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

EDUCATION

Polytechnic students to oppose development fund
By Kanchan Vasdev
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 12 —The decision of the Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training to generate revenue through newly introduced annual development fund enforced in August this year has run into rough weather. Students of various polytechnic institutes all over Punjab have decided to oppose the new development fund.

A development fund of Rs 1000 each was charged from every entrant to a polytechnic institute vide letter number 35/35/94-1TE-II/1195 and 1178 dated 4.3.99 last year that was to be paid once at the time of admission. But the Board later converted it into an annual development fund to be charged every year from each student vide letter number 1046, dated 25.8.2000.

The Registrar of the Board, Mr AS Arunachal, said that the enforcement of annual development fund was in fact the policy of the Punjab Government under which various colleges were to be provided with finances for infrastructure and other amenities. He said this was introduced after keeping in view the financial crunch faced by the Government.

Students from many colleges all over Punjab said that they were already paying hefty amounts in the form of admission fee, tuition fee and student activities related fund. Now they were asked to pay development fund also that too every year. They said the policy of the government to mint money from the students would prove to be a major factor in discouraging them from taking up further studies.

Students from some colleges of Punjab who joined diploma courses in 1999 said that they were being asked to pay the development fund once again although they had already paid the amount once as per their fee structure. They said that it was nowhere mentioned in their prospectus that they would be asked to pay the fund again as it was clearly mentioned that it was a one-time fund.

A delegation of some students met this correspondent in the Board premises per chance. They said that they too were asked to pay an amount of Rs 1000 like the freshers and the college authorities were telling them that it was as per the instructions issued by the board. They had come to see the registrar for the same but the concerned superintendent did not let them meet him.

The Registrar, Mr Arunachal, said that even he had received such cases a few days ago. Students coming to him said that the college authorities were asking the old students to pay the development fund once again. He said,”

The board has already issued instructions to all colleges that the annual development fund has to be charged from the new batch of students and not from those who joined courses in 1999. We have sent reminders to some colleges about the same and in the light of this complaint we will send reminders to all colleges.”

Govt primary schools in bad shape
From Kulwinder Sangha

SAS NAGAR, Sept 12 — Although Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab Chief Minister, wants to bring the town on the IT map of the world and a number of steps are being taken by various departments to beautify the town and also provide it with the latest facilities, including five-star hotels, to woo foreign investors, one feels a sense of shame when one visits and sees the condition of various government primary schools here, an aspect which has been almost totally neglected by the government.

Some teachers in these institutions even feel that many primary schools in villages are better than the ones here. “We got ourselves transferred to schools in a town next to Chandigarh without knowing the pitiable conditions in which we would be working,” said these teachers.

Even in the 21st century one sees a large number of children studying in verandahs sitting on wodden “patras” and jute “tarts” in the absence of proper classrooms and that, too, in a town which had been planned as part III of Chandigarh. Most of these primary schools do not have the electricity connection, and a simple necessity in hot weather, cold water, is not available to the little children.

Pupils in these government institutions come mostly from slum areas, which politicians often claim are their votebanks. Do children of the poor have no right to spend even a few hours in a room under a fan, at least while studying?

In Government Primary School, Phase XI, 75 students of Class I are made to sit on the floor in a verandah as they do not have a classroom. Their room has been occupied by students of the middle school which is run on the first floor of the same building. Teachers of the primary school, in a praiseworthy gesture, contributed some money and got three blackboards made for the three sections of students attending classes in the verandah.

The school playground has not been levelled properly and as such water collects in certain parts of it whenever it rains. As the school does not have a chowkidar, children from nearby areas make full use of the playground after school hours. These outsiders have not only uprooted plants but have also broken windowpanes. It is very difficult to sit in the classrooms during the winter as the cold air enters in the absence of windowpanes. During the summer the little children sweat it out as the school has no fans.

The school does not officially have a safai sewak. The staff collect one rupee from every student and a part-time maid has been engaged to clean the premises. There is only one toilet for the primary as well as the middle school. The strength of the primary school is 235 and that of the middle 200. About three years ago Mr Tota Singh, State Education Minister, who visited the school in connection with a function, had announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh for the primary school, but the amount has so far not reached the institution from the minister’s office in next-door Chandigarh. So much for politicians’ announcements!

The primary school in Phase IX does not even have a proper building of its own. There are 161 students on its rolls, but most of them have to attend classes in the open or a verandah because only two rooms can be used for this purpose. There is a lot of seepage in the rooms and on one side of building one can see cracks. As such, classes are held in the verandah, which itself is unsafe. One can see that wooden beams are about to fall. Many of these have been damaged by white ants. The staff — again a gesture which ought to be lauded — contributed a total of Rs 2,500 to get 22 beams changed. The flooring of the building is also in bad shape. The cement has come off at most points and one can see bricks underneath.

As the school does not have a proper building, the benches provided for students by the government department were given away to another school and the students are now made to sit on wooden “patras”. There are six primary schools in different villages which fall under the Phase IX institution, which is designated as the centre, but their condition is a little better, say teachers.

The condition of the primary school in Phase V is no better. On Monday there were heaps of debris lying in the ground meant for the children to play. Wild growth was in abundance on the premises. As such the 150 students of the school have to hold their prayer assembly in the verandah of the building. No chowkidar has been provided by the government. When the school closes, children from nearby slums who come to play there sometimes defecate in the verandah, adding to the problems of the safai sewak. The pipes connecting the toilets to the overhead tanks have been broken, presumably by miscreants. Water has to be stored for use in the toilets. The school does not have a power connection. The Residents Welfare Association of the area has got a concrete pathway constructed on the school premises.

In Phase VII also the school does not have fans in the absence of a power connection. Windowpanes have again been broken by children of nearby areas who come and play in the ground after school is over. No chowkidar or safai sewak has been appointed by the authorities.

As one enters the primary school in Phase VI, one sees students attending classes sitting on “tarts” under the shade of trees in the absence of a proper building. The school has only two rooms in which there is seepage. One of them has been divided by a concrete partition with students made to sit huddled together whenever it rains. The second room serves the purpose of a store as well as a classroom for the rest of the students. There are 130 students on the rolls.

When this correspondent visited the school today she saw a carpenter repairing a door which had been broken by children of nearby areas who come to play in the ground after the school gets over. Once again, there was no chowkidar, no safai sewak and no power connection. However, one water tap has been provided on the school premises and a tank for storing drinking water has been donated by someone.

It is learnt that PUDA was to construct the school building and the design for it has also been prepared, but what is delaying the project no one knows.

The school in Phase II has the maximum number of facilities as well as student strength. There are 340 students. The school has a proper building and even fans have been provided in the classrooms. The water and power connections were got after the Education Minister sanctioned a grant of Rs 15,000. However, the school has only 40 benches. Most of the children sit on “tarts” during class hours. There is no chowkidar. An employee of the block education office, who has been given free accommodation on the school premises, looks after the area. However, one sees a lot of wild growth around.

COURTS

Security situation grim in court complex
By Kiran Deep

CHANDIGARH, Sept 12 — Even as a week has passed by since the Chandigarh police decided to enhance the security arrangement in the local District Courts, the situation of security remains as grim as ever. So much so that everybody can enter the court complex at will, with no metal detector installed anywhere. Without much safeguards with respect to the security on the premises of the courts, the lives of the presiding judicial officers, over 700 advocates and thousands of litigants are forever on stake.

Even three years after the court complex witnessed a major scuffle between the two contesting parties, the security has not yet been beefed up. Barring few judges of the rank of the Additional District Judge, no other presiding officer has been provided with the security cover.

While the Chandigarh police is yet to effect its decision of sprucing up security in the local courts, litigants and advocates remain bothered all time, especially in view of the recent unsavoury happenings in which a woman judge had been attacked by a lawyer in Kaithal.

Coming to the structure of the sessions courts, there are 17 courts in all which witness a huge daily rush of litigants. In the absence of metal detectors, the safety of the people hangs in fire. Significantly, there is only one metal detector in the entire complex and that too is installed outside the court of the UT District and Sessions Judge.

With nothing to restrict the moves, the court complex is now turning into a lucrative business ground for the various vendors who are strengthening their numbers day by day and good number of stalls have come up there.

As the security system cries for reform, the advocates sound the alarm. Says President of the District Bar Association, Mr N.K. Nanda, “I did inform the District Judge about the security problem in the court and had requested him many a times to install the metal detectors.”

Meanwhile, the District Court authorities, when contacted, said they had not received any guidelines pertaining to the security arrangements on the complex.