The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDUCATION

IT bug bites city
From A Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Nov 4 — Information technology — is no longer a formidable phrase, nor is it some distant phenomenon. IT is right here in our city and it is here to stay. All leading computer institutes have a branch in Ludhiana. A leading institute has two branches in the district and one of its centres alone has enrolled 550 students in the current year and had 350 last year. This staggering figure is an off-shoot of the growing awareness about computers, convenience of e-mail, the accessibility of web, better job opportunities, a career in the field of computer hardware and software, the dotcom bubble at the stock markets, success stories like Bill Gates and Sameer Bhatia. Some perceive it as a road to instant success, some as a means of setting abroad. The list is endless.

Computer institutes are conquering Ludhiana. Most of them have courses that can be classified into five categories. Professional courses are meant for people who are not into the computer line but are professionals in other fields and can enhance their performance in their arenas through these courses. There are customised courses for them. The duration of these is generally 6 to 9 months. One is taught Windows and how to operate specific software packages for one’s professional requirements.

Then there is the complete career course which runs from 2 to 3 years depending on the institute whether or not professional practice/internship is part of the curriculam. This course teaches virtually everything a future computer professional requires to know-DOS, Windows, programming in various languages, research, analysis, how to work in a data base environment, web page making, the usage of a million and one new accessories like CAD, CAM, Photoshop, how to design user-specific programming, etc and others skills required. Another good thing about this holositic course is that one does not have to enroll for the entire course and one can go in for one semester i.e. for six months at a time and later get upgraded to the next semester or the rest of the course .

The short term/beginners’ for courses are the shortest in duration, ranging from one week to three months. They teach the basic computer concepts, Windows surfing on the net, electronic mailing etc .

The e-commerce course, gives commerce students an edge over competition. It also helps them with various accounting and inventory packages, Then there are huge database packages which help in storing all business, client and supplier information. Business is conducted at the speed of bits and bytes today, what with the latest stock information and dealing and communicating conducted on-line.

The modular short term courses teach specific languages as per students’ requirements. Hence, one can learn any computer language available in that particular institute be it - Java, BASIC, Visual BASIC, Oracle, C, C++, SQL, Unix, etc. The fee differs from language to language, as per the software package and once again depends upon the students as to how many languages one wants to learn. This too can be upgraded .

The charges for these courses vary from reasonable to reasonably high for, so is the cost of computers, their software, maintenances, accessories, etc. However, what is disturbing is the fact that a lot of the youth opting for these courses see it is a gateway to other countries. “Out of every 10 that join up, 5 are starry eyed dreamers dreaming of going abroad,” commented an academic coordinater of one of these institutes. Also there is the usual crowd because of the bandwagon effect and for fun.

At the end of the day one thing is clear, information technology has wooed the town and has sure captivated our attention.

Students meet college staff on fee hike issue
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Nov 4 — Following strike in two local colleges over the issue of fee hike, student committees held a meeting with the Principal and the staff representatives of their respective colleges to solve the issue.

While the students of the Arya College for Boys went satisfied after the meeting, those from Gujranwala Khalsa College still seemed agitated.

Akhil Bharati Vidyarthi Parishad President Mr Satish Kumar, in a press note, informed that Mr V.K. Mehta, Principal, Arya College for Boys, said the fee would be reduced by Rs 300 and concessions would be given to the students belonging to economically weaker sections.

At GGN Khalsa College, the students held meeting with staff and the Principal, Mr Kuldeep Singh, but no conclusion could be drawn. While the principal maintained that the college authorities were helpless as the fee hike had been introduced by Panjab University and the state government, the students said the college management had also increased some funds. They said the university had announced only 15-20 per cent fee hike, however, the hike in some of the college funds was more than 100 per cent.

Students said that in the meeting it was decided that there would be no classes on Monday and another meeting of the student committee, the Principal and the college staff would be held on that day.

Even after repeated attempts, the principals of the two colleges could not be contacted for their comments.

GCW’s well-stocked library
From Asha Ahuja

LUDHIANA, Nov 4 — Poornima, a B.Sc second year student finds the college library very useful. She finds people working in the library very co-operative. She says, “We love coming to the library for it is very peaceful. We get the books that we require. Moreover, Ms Meena Wadhwa, working there, is extremely helpful.” The college library is housed in an old fashioned building that was built in 1943. As high walls and teak furniture shine like polished glass and one could feel that the place was definitely well cared for.

The library has grown as far as the number of books is concerned. At present, the library contains 58,000 books on all subjects related to the courses offered by the college. The latest courses offered are in computers, microbiology, commerce, nutrition and a Masters in Punjabi. The library has been divided into four sections. One section houses the office of three librarians, Ms Joshi, Ms Rani Harinder and Ms Paramjit Kaur. There are two restorers for giving and collecting books and three attendants for the 2000 strong membership comprising the students of the college. Not all students avail of library facilities, but the librarians are happy that most of the students were making good use of the library mostly because they have to study for competitive exams. Moreover say the librarians, “We get the cream. The students are intelligent and well read and want to improve themselves all the time. It makes us happy to see the enthusiasm of our young students towards books.”

Beyond the office is a circulation centre, where tables are placed for students to refer to journals and magazines. One door leads to the reference room where encyclopaedias, dictionaries, quotation books and other expensive books are stored.

All students can become members of the library by paying a meagre sum of Rs 2 per student per month. The library depends on the UGC for financial support which is not regular in coming. The college library received Rs 1,50,000 after two years. The Punjab government, being cash strapped, gives out Rs 5000 to Rs 10,000 for purchase of books. Ms Paramjit Kaur says, “We are happy that our students maintain discipline. There is no pilferage. Students study diligently, especially when they get assignments. Many come to consult magazines for competitive examinations, especially since more girls are becoming career conscious. Our problem is that we need a bigger place to store books. The number of courses as well as students have increased. We can put up our demands to the DPI, but a lot of red tapism is involved and our requirements are seldom taken care of. “

Anuradha Saini and Dheera of Class XI love going to the library for its peaceful environs. They say, “the greenary outside soothes our tired eyes. We find a good number of relevant books. But we wish the librarians would buy some latest books.”

Sarabjit Singh, the library registrar said, “We issue books for 14 days. For failure to return them in time, we charge a nominal fine of 10 paisa every day. Teachers can be issued up to 15 books for one session.”

Harpreet of Class XII was studying on the first floor where students could bring their own books. She said, “We should be allowed to bring library books to study here too.”

More or less, the library looked well used. The three librarians want the library to become computerised as soon as possible.

Old Students’ Day Celebrated
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Nov 4 — The Old Students Association of the Government College For Women celebrated the Old Students’ Day at the college premises, here, today. The function started with an invocation to the college as the alma mater of the students.

The association honoured a few illustrious old students of the college. Ms Jagdeep Malhotra, Ms Gurupdesh Kaur and Ms Kohli shared this honour. For the first time in the history of the association, the final year students of the college were included in the function.

The next part of the programme was electing new office bearers of the Old Students’ Association. Ms Inderjit Kaur Vashisht was elected as president, Ms Manjeet Sodhia as vice-president, Ms Sarobjit as the secretary, Ms Rashmi Grover as the assistant secretary and Ms Balbir Bajaj as treasurer of the Association.

The students of the college presented a colourful show depicting Indian culture. The Ganesh Vandana presented by one of the college students was mesmerizing. Apart from this, students regaled the audience with ghazals, folk songs, poetry and dance. The Punjabi-style dance on the song chapa chapa charkha chale was a hit with the audience.

It was a time of reminiscences for old students of the college. One of them said that the occasion was a wonderful opportunity to renew old ties. The function concluded with a sumptuous lunch.