The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDUCATION

Churning out nurses of high calibre
Asha Ahuja

Ludhiana, April, 28
CMC Nursing College came into existence in the last century but it became a full functional nursing college in the year 1973. A nursing training school was started in the year 1881 by the Green Field Sisters. The precursors, Ms Martha Rose and Green Field Sisters, started training a few students in nursing. Later, Ms Edith Brown, founder of CMC joined them in the year 1893. Basic education in nursing started in a small building within the campus.

The school for nursing, like any other institute, grew up slowly and steadily. In 1941, the general nursing, and midwifery courses were introduced. This education was upgraded to collegiate programme. By this time a building for nursing college was made ready and is tucked away in a very quiet corner of the CMC campus and the CMC Nursing College started in the full stream.

The main objective is to prepare well qualified registered nurses at various levels of health care delivery systems to contribute towards changing needs of the community through the provision of nursing at ‘par excellence’ and with all-round development of the personality.

From the year 1941 to 2001, the nursing college has produced 829 graduates in B.Sc. Nursing, 2577 nurses in general nursing medicine and 62 postgraduates in nursing, fiftytwo students have been trained for special short-term courses. The nurses of CMC have spread far and wide. They have achieved top places in setting up new nursing colleges like in Muktsar and Nawanshahr. Throughout the years, the students have been awarded President’s medals for securing highest medals in university examinations. Presently, the university is affiliated to Baba Farid University of Health Sciences at Faridkot. The minimum qualification required for B.Sc. (Nursing) is 10+2 with science subjects, and for general nursing, the students are required to obtain 45% marks in 10+2 examination in science or arts subjects. The B.Sc. nursing courses are of 4 years’ duration. The nursing students have to learn a vast number of subjects like physics, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, sociology, medical surgery Nursing and midwifery etc.

The students after six months of studies work in the hospitals for four hours in clinical area and have classes for three hours. For the general nursing medical students after six months of instructions, the students have to be on duty for 8 hours for four days, and one day is reserved for studies.

After graduation, the interested students can do master of science in nursing, which is a two-year programme in the specialities of maternal and child health nursing and psychiatric nursing. After a B.Sc. degree, the nurses are called staff nurses. One can see them in the hospital in white salwar kameez and white overalls. The nursing superintendent and supervisors are in white sarees and overalls whereas the students of nursing wear white loose tops and pants.

There is a certain hierarchy in the positions of the nurses. The staff nurse can become clinical instructor/ward incharge after two years of service. If the staff nurse does postgraduation in nursing, she can become lecturer/supervisor. After five years of the service, they are eligible for the post of reader and another four years of service entitles them to become professors.

At present there are 12 professors, 9 readers and 6 lecturers in the college for a strength of 424 nursing students. Mrs Rana Dev, the principal, said, “I have been in this institution from 1967 and I have been holding the post of Principal for last four years. Our nurses are competent, kind compassionate and caring. Life of the patients is in the nurses’ hands. We need to be accountable, specially when we are dealing with sick human beings. There has been a decline in the commitment of nurses compared to years of the past. But any day, the nurses of this college can find jobs easily anywhere in India and outside India too.

Mrs Rana Dev said that the nursing college wanted addition of more specialities for M.Sc., N programme and increase in number of seats for above programme, expansion of college building (auditorium, more classrooms, offices and laboratories) , expansion of hostel building for students and accommodation for the faculty, more transport facilities for outreach programmes, introduction of Ph.D. nursing and to start computer education.

City to have interactive classrooms facility
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 28
Zed Career Academy, a franchisee of Zee Interactive Learning Systems Ltd., will provide interactivity in education and learning for all segments of learning audience. The technology-based learning network geared to address the needs of the conversion era would deliver the comprehensive learning through Internet and interactive television channel and would be supported by the network of ground learning centres, called Zed CA.

The centre, to be formally opened on Sunday, will be first of its kind in Punjab, according to Mr Anil Jain, head of the team of IT personnel, who would be managing the centre. Mr Jain, an electronics engineer, will be assisted by his wife, Ms Vandana Jain, an engineering graduate, Mr Atul Jain and Mr Amit Malhotra, both networking engineers.

Giving demonstration of the 'interactive classroom experience' in a news conference here last evening, Ms Namita Kapoor told that the computer education centre would have interactivity facility, along with other specialised IT courses with a global edge, with an added advantage of an expert faculty. ‘‘The students would be trained with the use of V-Sat technology, which would enable the students at the centre to get the lectures through expert faculty, located at Noida studio or even abroad and the students would also be able to interact with the faculty members’’. The facility could be made available to the corporate sector also, where they could train their staff, using the technology available with the centre, she added.

Mr Anil Jain observed that e-com learning was incomplete if taught through conventional classroom methods. The ZCA centre would provide a training methodology that would have the distinctive ‘level-4’ advantage of offering a learning process, which would be an integration of Internet, television, Interactive Learning Technologies and Learning Centre. All four factors, combined together would generate a synergy from which the students would benefit the most.

COURTS

Forum asks Telecom Deptt to pay Rs 5,000
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 28
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the Telecom Department to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation on account of deficiency in services to Mr Randhir Singh, a resident of Jamalpur. The forum further directed the department to pay Rs 500 as cost of litigation to the complainant.

According to the complaint, Mr Randhir Singh had booked a telephone connection on September 3, 1998 and deposited Rs 3,000 for the same. The consumer stated before the forum that the person who had applied for a telephone connection after him, told him that he received the advice note while the complainant did not receive any.

It was also alleged in the complaint that the advice notes had been issued to all applicants who had booked telephones in September, 1998, along with the complainant. He pointed out that he had not been issued the advice note, while other applicants, who had applied in September, 1998, had been given advice notes. As such this was clear deficiency in services on the part of the Telephone Department. Mr Randhir Singh demanded that the department installs the connection immediately and it should pay Rs 10,000 as compensation for deficiency in services.

The Telecom Department pleaded that the telephone (607222) had already been provided to the complainant. The respondent maintained that the complainant had been issued an advice note for installation of the telephone on January 22, 1999, but telephone could not be installed earlier because of the non-feasibility of the area.

The forum observed that as per rules feasibility of the area in the which the telephone was to be installed, had to be seen before issuing the advice note and issuing advice note, without ascertaining feasibility of the area, was clear deficiency in services. The forum further stated that there was no evidence to prove that the area was not feasible before January 20, 2000 and the advice note for installation of telephone was issued on January 22, 1999. The forum further stated that the telephone was not installed for a period of about one year after issuing of the advice note as the said connection was given on December 22, 2000. The forum held that there was clear deficiency on the part of Telecom Department as they had taken about one year to install a telephone connection after issuing the advice note.

CULTURE

A subtle drama of relationships
Asha Ahuja

Ludhiana, April, 28
Shovana Narayan, kathak danseuse and Sunit Tandon, well-known news reader and theatre personality are here in the city for their play, "Yudhistar and Draupadi", written by Pavan K. Verma.

Talking about the novel experiments done by them, Shovana said, "Actually it is a very long poem and Sunit reads out a part of it while I enact with my movements the part that he has read. The whole sequence is divided into four parts. In the first part, it is Yudhistar, who looks inward into his various past experiences. In the second part, it is Draupadi's turn to introspect. The third part is very beautiful in which the dialogues of Yudhistar and Yaksha at the threshold of heaven are absorbing. In the fourth part, Yudhishtar and Draupadi talk about their interpersonal relationship. The emotions and relationships between a man and a woman have always remained the same. They are age-old and yet the psychology involved in the relationship is quite contemporary."

Says Sunit Tondon, "It is a new kind of attempt. The poetry has been integrated into dance. Since it was a long poem, we have selected excerpts. While I will be reading in English, Shovana will be reading some part in Hindi, so that the message gets across to a large number of audience."

Tracing the history of Kathak, Shovana said, "Kathak came into existence probably more than 3,000 years ago. In the olden times, the priests used to narrate a story and then break into ecstasy and start dancing. Katha means story. Earlier, the person who used to narrate used to dance whereas now, a person narrates the story and another one brings the story alive by facial expressions, actions and footwork.

To a question whether innovations were corrupting Kathak, Shovana said, "When Tansen created ragas, then he must be innovating. If a big rooted tree is not given oxygen, it will perish. Similarly the arts have to be influenced by other cultures. But in my mind, I know that Western influences are not going to weaken our roots. More and more youngsters are learning classical dance and music. The foreign influences are like a process of osmosis. So whatever we need, we accept and the rest peters away. I want people to become rounded individuals so that they behave like good human beings and are good in whatever they do."

Talking about Indian theatre, Sunit remarked that a lot of experimental theatre was happening in Delhi which was quite heartening.