The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

EDUCATION

1,000 UMCs reported in PU in 3 years
Sanjeev Singh Bariana
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 15
Nearly 1,000 students indulging in unfair means in the annual examinations were caught by Panjab University in the past three years and nearly 900 of them have been punished. The punishment amounts to disqualification from the university examination for a term ranging from two to five years. Interestingly, the figure speaks only of students from the streams of undergraduate and professional courses only.

The list of information supplied by the university to a special committee has classified the cases under three years of BA degree. The first year tops in all the three years with a collective figure of 481 students found guilty followed by second year with 180 cases and the third year recorded 143 cases.

The lists figure students from the regular as well as private courses collectively.

The numbers figure in a report of the university attached with papers of a special committee which has been constituted by the Vice-Chancellor regarding steps to be taken to check the mass copying in the university examination. The committee has not been able to formulate any formal recommendations till now.

The committee was constituted following a previous university Senate decision where Dr P.P. Arya highlighted incidents of mass copying in the university examination. He had thrown a bundle of “help slips” that he had found during an invigilation duty.

Members have, however, felt that the cases detected as figure in the list do not show the exact picture of the mass copying as this reflected to independent cases detected during invigilation. It is being felt that the accompanying lists needed more detailed inputs from different quarters.

The committee includes Prof S.L. Sharma, Prof Bal Krishan, Prof Akhtar Mehmood, Prof P.P. Arya, Principal A.C. Vaid, Principal R.C. Jeewan, Principal P.S. Sangha, Mr Ashok Bhandari and Dr Cecilia Antony.

A member said the duties regarding various aspects of examination and re-evaluation also needed a closer look. The university papers point out that there were lesser than required number of teachers on examination duty. The figures read that in 1999 as many as 74 non-teaching employees were appointed on invigilation duty “in emergency” and as many as 75 were appointed in 2000.

Another member pointed out that the existing rules were strict enough to ensure corrective measures, only the invigilation duties to be strengthened further. The ground staff needs to be stronger which was possible with a sense of commitment. He also felt that besides data, more details of the actual examination duties needs to be gathered and submitted to the committee because facts will speak volumes more than mere figures.

Functions mark I-Day celebrations
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 15
Several organisations in the city organised Independence Day celebrations by hoisting the Tricolour, distributing sweets and playing patriotic songs from Hindi films. At several places, children led by elders sung the National Anthem.

At Panjab University, the National Flag was hoisted by Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor. Patriotic songs and tributes to brave soldiers and freedom fighters, besides greetings, formed part of the Independence Day celebrations on the Panjab University campus.

Professor Pathak said “There is a proposal to introduce MBA (IT) and masters in e-commerce”, human genome, bio-informatics, public health courses. The UGC has approved the establishment of a centre for Swami Vivekananda Studies with a grant of Rs 6.5 lakh. A centre for human genome studies and research is being set up, for which the UGC has sanctioned a grant of Rs 1 crore.

Free diabetes camps were organised in various parts of the city by Lions Club International through its various branches. Camps for diabetes awareness and detection were organised at Sukhna Lake, Fragrance Garden, Sector 36, Sector 19-C market, Sector 17 plaza and Tagore Theatre. Blood samples of over 1400 persons were tested for blood sugar. Free brochures and other literature related to diabetes were also distributed. The Lions Clubs also unfurled National Flag at Government High School, Sector 36, Government Middle School, Naya Gaon, Bal Niketan and Old Age Home, Sector 15.

The National Flag was hoisted at the local head office of the State Bank of India in Sector 17 here by Mr Arun P. Bhatnagar. Students of the Government High School, Sector 24, sung patriotic songs at the function.

Mr Salil Misra, Deputy General Manager, State Bank of Patiala, Chandigarh, unfurled the National Flag at bank’s building in Sector 8. A large number of bank’s executives were present.

Various traders from different parts of the city under the umbrella of Chandigarh Beopar Mandal celebrated Independence Day in Sector 17 plaza. The National Flag was unfurled by Mr jagdish Arora, Beopar Mandal president.

At Government High School, Sector 40-A, Mr Bahadur Singh, Headmaster of the school, unfurled the National Flag. A cultural programme was also presented by the school children, which included poems, songs and dances. Sweets were distributed among the children.

Residents of Shivalik Co-operative Housing Society, Sector 49, hoisted the National Flag. They distributed sweets and organised lunch for children and members of the society.

Mr Dharam Paul Gupta, President, BJP, Chandigarh, unfurled the National Flag in BJP office. A large number of BJP leaders and workers were present. The flag hoisting ceremony started with the National Anthem.

BJP leaders of Chandigarh unfurled the National Flag at various places. Mr Gian Chand Gupta, a former Mayor, unfurled the tricolour in Sector 30-B, Mr Suresh Verma, vice-president of BJP, in B.V. Holy Heart Public School, Indira Colony Mani Majra, Mr Kesar Singh, chairman, Market Committee, Chandigarh in Darua, Mr Hari Shanker Mishra, president of Colonies Cell, in Colony 4 and Mr Satinder Singh, president of BJYM, Chandigarh, in Nehru Public School, Colony 4.

The Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee also celebrated Independence Day. At Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, the National Flag was unfurled by Mr B.B. Bahl, President, CTCC. Congress Seva Dal volunteers were in attendance. All members of CTCC and other senior Congress leaders were present.

Mr Pawan Bansal, MP, accompanied by Mr Bahl, hoisted the National Flag at Maloya, Palsora, Ram Darbar and Sector 52. Congress leaders, including Mr Ram Pal Sharma, Mr Parampal Singh Matharoo, Mr Pawan Sharma, Mr Phul Chand, Mr Bimal Btta, Mr K.K. Khanna, Mr K.S. Panchhi, Mr A.N. Shastri, Mr A.S. Sarhadi, Mr K.K. Kapur and Mr H.S Lucky, were present.

The National Flag was hoisted by Mr Rav Avtar, president of the employees’ union of Government College, Sector 46, on the college campus. The residents of the campus, along with their children, took part in the function. Kids of the employees presented a cultural programme.

In the newly opened Doordarshan Kendra in Sector 37, the tricolour was hoisted by Mr J.P. Gautam, director of the kendra. The staff members and other officers of the kendra were present.

The Chandigarh Nationalist Congress Party celebrated the day by unfurling the National Flag at the party’s office in Sector 21.

The National President of the Bhartiya Valmiki Sabha, Mr Karnail Singh Sahota, unfurled the National Flag and distributed sweets among poor children in Nehru Colony.

Dr Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management Catering and Nutrition hoisted the National Flag at its Independence Day celebrations. The function was attended by students and staff of the institute. Homage was paid to freedom fighters.

STATE OF HOSTEL
Hostels plagued by thefts
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh
The oldest hostels of Panjab University are the three boys’ hostels near the university’s gate number 1 and are called hostels number 1, 2 and 3.

“These hostels have been named after important persons in the country’s history but it is convenient to refer to them as such,” say the residents.

The biggest problem that the residents of these hostels face relates to thefts. “The three hostels have a common problem in that they stand next to wild growth and many outsiders enter the hostels and leave easily after stealing things,” say the residents. “The most common is the theft of clothes but at times we have also lost money and electronic gadgets,” they say.

But the students are not sure whether outsiders are committing these thefts or if the residents are to blame. “We are not very sure about who is responsible for the thefts but there are many who believe that monkeys are the culprits. There are so many monkeys around that we are not sure when we are going to be attacked by them,” they say.

How is the food?

“The food is OK but we wish we could also have the cooperative system like hostel number 3. The food is much better there”.

Hostel number 1 is home to many of the university’s old students. “Old in the sense that they are doing research and have been staying here for longer periods,” explains a resident. But cases of students doing one masters course after another and staying in the hostel for year are common. Also there are many vacant rooms in the hostel but these are locked and no one knows who has the keys. “We know that these rooms are used by outsiders who come and stay there from time to time,” says another student.

Students living on the top floors complain of being the worst off. The ceilings and walls of the rooms remain perpetually damp. “In winter these rooms are unbearably cold because of the dampness and in summer, since we are at the top we get the maximum heat of the sun”.

Too much heat is a complaint which the residents of rooms on the sunny have. “This is a another problem which is common to all the three hostels. ‘‘We are forced to sleep in the common room on the ground floor and at times in the rooms of our friends on the ground floor,” they say.

The residents of hostel number 2 have a different problem. The bathrooms on the ground floor have been leaking since last year. “Every times it rains, the roofs of the bathrooms start leaking and although we have complained to the authorities several times, they seem to be helpless.”

Then there is the problem of cleanliness in hostels number 2 and 3. “The bathrooms are particularly repulsive,” complain the boys.

As far as other facilities are concerned, the hostels seem to be self-sufficient. There are dhobis, telephones, STD booths and barbers. “But no one informs us about our telephone calls. When people ring us up on the hostel telephone, no one cares to call us from our rooms,” they say.

Exhibition of library books
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 15
A seven-day exhibition of library books began at Government College in Sector 46 here yesterday. Inaugurating the exhibition, the chief guest on the occasion, Mr Harbhajan Singh Halwarvi, Editor, Punjabi Tribune, addressed students of the college.

‘‘Read good books because it is through these that we can interact with superior minds,’’ he said. He lauded the efforts of the library department of the college in undertaking an innovative educational programme in the college.

Earlier, welcoming the chief guest, the college Principal, Mr D.P. Singh, said the library department of the college has the tradition of organising book exhibitions on all important national and local events. The library also has the unique distinction of organising a library orientation programme in the beginning of the academic session, the objective of which was to educate the college students, especially freshers about the college library set-up and the importance of libraries in their lives.

During the exhibition, students of the college are expected to know the books available, learn the procedure of getting books issued, to consult reference books, dictionaries, encyclopaedias etc. The library has also added a large number of books to cater to competitive examinations.

Mr Halwarvi showed keen interest in many books. He announced that he would donate 200 books to the college library for the use of students and faculty.

PU calls incident ‘unfortunate’
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, August 15
Panjab University authorities have termed the incident involving a senior I.P.S officer of Haryana and the PU securitymen as “unfortunate”.

An official press release of the university said that the Haryana cadre official was unfamiliar with the campus situation and had suggested to keep the half shut gate (Gate No. 2) completely open.

The press release added that the suggestion could have been taken in the “right perspective”.

The man on the security duty failed to explain the reason why half door (gate) was kept open at night.

The note said the “University regrets the unpleasantness which has been caused by the aggressive behaviour of its security staff. It was avoidable”.

The official press note claimed that the issue has been settled by the intervention of PU authorities.