EDUCATION

Punjab Governor gives degrees to 694 graduates
Tribune News Service

SIDHWAN KHURD, Jan 23 — It was a proud moment for 694 graduates and postgraduates of the Khalsa College for Women, Sidhwan Khurd, and the Guru Hargobind Harparkash College of Education, both affiliated to Panjab University, as degrees in BA, MA, MEd, BEd and BSc were conferred on them at a convocation in the presence of the Punjab Governor, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), in the college auditorium here today.

General Jacob, who flew in from Chandigarh by helicopter, stayed on the campus for over two hours. In his convocation address, General Jacob lauded the role of the Sidhwan Khurd institutions in imparting education to women hailing from rural areas. "Even Guru Nanak espoused the cause of women," he said while addressing the audience comprising students, their parents and dignitaries. The Governor was accorded a warm welcome by the trustees led by the President, Honorary Captain Dalbara Singh, secretaries, Mr Kirpal Singh Bhattal and Mrs Shivinder Sidhu, Mr Tarlochan Singh, and Col Chanan Singh Dhillon.

Giving a word of advice to the fresh graduates and postgraduates of the College of Education, the Governor said: "You are going to teach and equip students of the new millennium. The world is becoming a global village. You must master the skills of computer and the Internet to enable students to face the challenges."

Deviating from the convocation address, General Jacob said two events had changed the world. The invention of printing at Gothenberg in the 15th century and the Internet in modern times had had a major impact on human life. "I am glad that the Sidhwan institutions are imparting computer education to students," he said.

The Governor also emphasised the importance of sports and said the college authorities should give due attention to games as they helped in character-building. Later the Governor announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh for the Sidhwan institutions. The principals of the two colleges, Mrs Jaspal Kaur Brar and Mrs Nirmal Kaur, presented the degrees. In a touching gesture the principal came down from the podium to present the degree to a handicapped girl who could not climb the stairs. While 430 graduates received degrees in BEd, nine received MEd degrees. Sixty students were conferred degrees in master of arts, six in BSc and 189 in bachelor of arts. Two students were also presented the roll of honour.

The Sidhwan institutions, tucked away in a corner of this village, some 30 km from Ludhiana, owed their existence to a great visionary, Bhai Narain Singh, a resident of this village, who donated his property, including his house, to perpetuate the memory of his only son, Mr Ujagar Singh, who died in a road accident in 1908. A small school established by Bhai Narain Singh in his house way back in 1909 initially had four students. The school was upgraded in 1925 and again in 1934.

The degree college was established in 1950 and Bibi Harprakash Kaur, Padma Shree and daughter of Bhai Narain Singh, managed the affairs till her death in 1965. Ever since, thousands of girls have passed out from these institutions occupying prominent positions in public life.

The four institutions, namely the Khalsa College for Women, Guru Hargobind Harparkash College of Education, Sikh Girls High School and Guru Hargobind Senior Secondary School are currently being managed by the Sri Guru Hargobind Ujagar Hari Trust.

Despite cold, students prepare for R-Day
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Jan 23 — Hundreds of students of various schools and colleges here are preparing for the Republic Day function that is to be held in the local Government College for Boys.

Cultural troupes for the function are still to be finalised. After the teams assemble in the college, the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Mr Charanjit Atwal, will hoist the National Flag. This will be followed by the inspection of parade, Mr Atwal’s speech and a cultural programme.

Tomorrow, a full dress rehearsal of the function will be held and the security in the city will also be beefed up.

Mr Bhag Singh of Sacred Heart Senior Secondary Convent School said students of the school would present Vande Mataram. The school’s contingent of 325 students is the biggest one among all the participants.

Students of the Sarabha Nagar DAV School will present a Haryanvi dance. Students of various government schools are preparing a drill show for the day. Many students will perform giddha and bhangra, besides a Rajasthani dance.

These students have been braving chilly winds, fog and cold for past few days during the rehearsals.

Netaji’s birth anniversary celebrated
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Jan 23 — Students of Gupta Model High School celebrated the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose here today. The cultural programme began with Saraswati Vandana. This was followed by debate on the topic ‘Nuclear explosion’ in which six students participated. A group dance on ‘Vande Matram’ was presented by the senior section girls. Gaurav gave a speech on ‘Republic Day’.

In the debate contest, Shilpy Gaba of Rohini House stood first, Ramanpreet of Bhaskar House was declared second and the third prize went to Pardeep Bhalla, again of Rohini House.

Dr Gurdev Singh Sidhu, vice-chairman, Punjab School Education Board, was the chief guest on the occasion. Ms Simmi Gupta, principal of the school, gave away prizes to the students.

Duties of invigilators to be shuffled daily
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Jan 23 — All examination centres of the Punjab School Education Board will be divided into groups of five to eight and the duties of invigilators will be shuffled among these centres everyday to prevent copying.

This was stated by Dr Gurdev Singh Sidhu, Vice-Chairman, Punjab School Education Board, who was in the city today. He said that this new arrangement was being done so that no school authorities could develop negotiations with the invigilators and cases of mass copying could be checked.

Dr Sidhu said that flying squads would make surprise checks in different examination centres. He also said that there would be five sets of papers like the previous year.

Regarding the complaint of non-delivery of roll numbers till date in most of the schools, Dr Sidhu said that the roll numbers had already been dispatched by the board and they should have been here by now. He said that he would inquire into the matter and make sure that the schools get the roll numbers in few days. He said that he had told the school principals to use the school numbers for the ongoing practical examination till they receive the roll numbers sent by the board.

Dr Sidhu said that he had received some complaints from several schools that the external examiners for practicals were not reaching the centres on time. He said that action would be taken against such examiners as it caused much inconvenience to the school authorities and the students.

Dr Sidhu said the website of the board was being updated and all relevant information would be posted on the site. He said the parents, teachers and students would be able to get the information on date sheet, availability of forms and roll numbers through the site. He said this year again the result would be declared on the Net by the month of May.

Regarding other developments by the board, Dr Sidhu said that this year the students in the top 1 per cent of the merit list would be given a scholarship of Rs 50 per month. He said that the board was also planning to introduce some more benefits and concessions for the students from weak economic section.

Dr Sidhu said that nearly 4.25 lakh students would be appearing for Class VIII examination, 4 lakh students in Class X examination and 2.25 lakh students in Class XII examination. He said that the total number of the appearing students had risen this year by a few thousands. 

COURTS

Insurance co directed to pay over Rs 1 lakh
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Jan 23 — The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum has directed United India Insurance to pay Rs 1,06,780.49 to the complainant, Mr Sukhminder Singh, in a car accident case.

Mr Sukhminder Singh, who is a resident of Model Town, insured the car with United India Insurance Company. The insurance policy was for the period from December 31, 1998 to December 31, 1999. A major part of the car was damaged in an accident on March 13, 1999. The complainant said that he spent Rs 1,47,790 to replace spare parts and the claim was lodged with the opposite party. The complainant alleged that despite many requests and a notice given to the company on March 3, 2000, the claim was not settled.

The insurance company stated before the court that the complainant was not a consumer and barred by his act and conduct from filing this complaint. They alleged that the complainant, in spite of repeated letters, failed to provide necessary information and documents for settling the claim. According to the opposite party, after intimation given by the complainant, a surveyor was appointed. The surveyor assessed the loss at Rs 1,06,780.49.

The forum observed that the company was demanding from the complainant, incorporation of new body shell for the registration record and original cash receipts of the payment made for repair and a consent letter to settle the claim. The forum held that there was no need to supply the original cash receipt, when the loss had already been assessed by the surveyor appointed by the company. The forum directed the company to pay the amount of loss assessed by the surveyor.