The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

SCHOOL BUZZ
These children are ready to enter the school of life
Smriti Kak

It was a day with a difference. No bags loaded with books, no tension about what will happen in the maths class. It was instead a jovial and carefree mood. G.H.P.S India Gate saw its students in an altogether different form. It was time to bid adieu to the class 12 students. Nostalgia seemed to have taken precedence over excitement, but the well-orchestrated cultural programmes had everyone making merry.

The tiny-tots, who had once entered the school with tears in the eyes, were today leaving with a smile on their lips. For the teachers it was a time of both pride and happiness. The youngsters they have painstakingly nurtured showed the signs of maturity.

Clad in their best the students had a ball dancing to Punjabi pop numbers. A dance put up by class XI students drew applause, as did the selection of Mr and Miss G.H.P.S., Divesh and Deepika. Wishing the students a better tomorrow were the Chairman of the school, Jathedar Surjit Singh, Vice-Chairman S. Tarlochan Singh and the Principal Mr I.S. Narang.

Tots’ graduation day

Tiny-tots in high spirits during the Nursery Graduation Ceremony.

If the seniors are celebrating can the juniors be far behind! The tiny-tots of the nursery class had reasons to celebrate as well. It was their graduation day.

The Nursery Graduation ceremony was marked by high-powered performances by the little ones. From Goldilocks to Giddha, the kids had a blast and so did the audience.

Among those present were General Secretary, DSGPC, Mr Kulmohan Singh, Chairman and Vice-chairman of the school, Chairman of DSGMC, Jathedar Inderpal Singh and member DSGPC, Mr Harinder Pal Singh.

Principal Narang gave a welcome speech and the programme concluded with the singing of the National Anthem.

Design your watch

This one is for the talented denizens of planet earth or should we say planet Cartoon Network. Titan has introduced a creative contest for the children between 6 and 14. The contest on cartoonnetworkindia.com invites children to use their creativity and imagination to design their watch.

The prize-winning watch will be launched as a new watch in the summer 2002 collection and the winner will receive the first watch of the collection. There will be watch for each of the top five winners, whereas all the participants will be awarded merit certificates. The forms can be downloaded from cartoonnetworkindia.com.

Play schools

Statistics reveal that there are 4,600 play schools in comparison to the 929 recognised public schools in the Capital. Educationists opine that play schools are mushrooming of late, an indication of the commercialisation of the education.

Concerned about the state of education, Ms Gayatri Nangia, Director of Kinder Care, organised a seminar on play schools, 'Nirman'.

The sole purpose was to provide a common communication platform to educationists and young parents. An awareness programme as this is seen as a step to help bring about a new perspective to early education.

The seminar was held in Springdales, Dhaula Kuan and was attended by eminent educationists.

While Dr Vinita Kaul, Sr Educational Specialist, World Bank spoke on Education Patterns at playschool levels, Ms Ummat, Principal DPS Dwarka, discussed the synergy between informal and formal education. Dr. Asha Singh, Faculty of Early Education, Lady Irwin College, spoke about 'Humanising Selection Procedures' and Dr R.P. Sharma, Dean and former Head, Central Institute of Education, Delhi University, drew attention to Sensitivity-The Basic Approach.

For gum-chewers

Kids who chew a lot of gum are often chided for the habit that leads not just to tooth decay, but is also considered impolite. However, if research carried out by Lucy Wilkinson and Dr Andrew Scholey of the University of Northumbria is anything to go, gum-chewing may soon become a correctional exercise rather than an exercise that needs correction.

According to the researchers, chewing the gum can increase the hearts beats and cause more oxygen to flow to the brain. They claim that it has been found that chewing gum improves short and long-term memory by at least 35 per cent.

So, next time you are scolded for chewing gum, medical science can come to your rescues. However, it is better not to chew too much and at places like classroom because too much of everything is bad, need we tell you that!

Annual Day

Kids presenting a kaleidoscope of colourful programmes.

Education and training given to small children provides a sound basis for the future development of the child, said the Minister of Revenue, Mr Haroon Yusuf while speaking at the Annual Day celebration of Rhyme Time Activity Centre in the Capital.

The Minister added that it is a matter of great satisfaction that parents are concerned about the education of their children and are trying their best to give them a quality education.

Children up to age five presented a cultural programme that was attended by parents and the staff of the centre. Principal Ms Usha Mehta informed that the centre has been running since 1998 and has made a name for itself on account of its quality grooming and teaching.

Thus laments a parent

A first-hand account of the plight of a parent whose four-year-old is about to start school. For starters, you are made to stand in serpentine queues just to be able to grab that precious little admission form that can take you a step further on the steep climb to your destination. Next, you have to prepare for the nerve-wrecking interview that makes even the ones with demonstrated academic abilities shift in their seats. That done, you are made to shell out an exorbitant amount to pay for the fees of those tiny-tots who require more indulgence and attention than the academic lessons.

And as the D-day (when your bundle of joy finally starts school) approaches, the already cumbered parents are made to sit through an orientation programme.

A what! An orientation programme where you are made to realise that though you graduated from school many moons ago, the principal and her staff still rule the roost. Apart from what they think is best for the child.

So, sermons on what and what-not, are given complete with instructions about what if-not. At the orientation ceremony at my son's school, I was admonished (well almost!) for not being punctual, before I could explain I was made to listen to a list of dos and don'ts.

No matter how hard I tried, I could not tell the lady in command that I was late because the school had paid no thought to the fact that the parents would need a place to park their vehicles. Needless to say that it took hours to grab a parking place.

Next all the parents had to enter the school only after they finished signing the register, remember attendance rules! The queue of over 500 parents could be seen obediently following rules.

But, what was food for thought was if this is orientation, perhaps we could do with a little bit of re-orientation, the only difference being, let the parents tell schools what to do with their child, after all parent's know best. (As told to Smriti Kak)

University education must for progress:
Defence Secy
Our Correspondent

Noida, March 17
Defence Secretary Yoginder Narain, a former student of Allahabad University, has said that giving university education to each citizen can play a very useful role in the development of the country. He has also called upon senior citizens to come forward to work for the welfare of the society and development of the country.

Dr Narain was speaking at a function of the federation of former students of Allahabad University here on Saturday. He said whatever had happened in Gujarat in the recent days was not good for the country. “We should try our best to place India in the frontline of the most developed nations of the world. For this, it is necessary that all of us rise about petty caste and parochial considerations,” he said.

The Defence Secretary said since India’s role was gaining importance in South and Eastern Asia, such incidents at this juncture could detract from the main issue and damage the prestige of the country, internationally. Mr Brijesh Mishra, Greater Noida Authority chief, said Allahabad University had given to the country some of its most talented products who had made significant contributions in different fields. Souvenirs were presented to the ex-students, many of whom also addressed the gathering.

Ghaziabad consumer forum sits for 105 days only
Our Correspondent

Ghaziabad, March 17
The Ghaziabad District Consumer Forum, which had functioned only for 105 days during the past year due to strikes and other problems, had disposed of 585 cases and ordered the payment of over Rs 12 crore as compensation to various complainants. Speaking to the ‘NCR Tribune’ on the World Consumer Rights Day, Mr S.P. Tyagi, chairman of Ghaziabad Consumer Forum, said that the Consumer Protection Ordinance was quite effective, beneficial and protected the rights of the consumers. If this forum was converted into a department, it would render better services and protect consumers rights more effectively.

The assistant director and DSO of the forum, Mr Anup Shankar, said that the main aim of the Consumer Day was to make consumers aware of the facilities extended by different departments. The Consumer Protection Ordinance was brought into effect in 1986 to provide better protection of their rights to the consumers. This law was not negative or punitive but protected consumers against damage or loss. It was comparatively simple to seek redress under this law by filing a suit/complaint under it, the cost of which is also not prohibitive. The Ghaziabad Consumer Forum was set up on October 26, 1991 and since then a total of 10,867 cases had been filed in it, out of which 7,752 cases had been settled, Mr Shankar added.

Cases solved in three months

Noida: The District Consumer Forum, Gautam Budh Nagar organised a seminar on the World Consumer Day here. Mr S. C. Sharma, member of the forum, said that it was instrumental in delivering speedy justice and fair play. The common consumer needed to be made aware of the benefits accruing from this forum, he said. Out of 561 complaints received, the forum has resolved 172 cases. The cases are decided within three months of issuance of notices. Meanwhile, the District Civil Supply Officer, Mr S. K. Singh, said consumers should bring their grievances before the forum so that traders would not exploit them and charge the prices printed on various commodities.

No fee for filing complaint

Sonepat: “In a country where the consumers are aware of their rights, there could not be any social exploitation and discrimination of any kind as well as malpractice and their country would march on the road of progress without any hurdle.” This was observed by Mr Sushil Grover, Chairman of the District Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum while speaking at a meeting of the women consumers here on Saturday. He advised the consumers to check the quality, the standard marks like ISI and Agmark on the packets of the consumer goods and also go through the date of manufacture and expiry of the goods. They should also ensure themselves that the goods are properly packed and get cash or credit memos and warranty card.

Mr Grover also informed the consumers that no court fee was charged on filing complaints by consumers in the consumer courts and immediate action was taken on every complaint. The complaints regarding power, telephone and public health services were also heard by the consumer courts.

He further disclosed that the case involving up to Rs 5 lakh could be filed before the District Consumer Grievances Redressal Forums, up to Rs 20 lakh before the State Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum and those involving above that amount in the Central Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum. Dr Puran Mal Gaur, Ms Sunita Gehlawat and Mr Gulshan Kumar Sharma, convenor, member and superintendent respectively of the forum also addressed the meeting.