EDUCATION

AIIMS topper reveals secret of success
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 16
Short sittings coupled with concentration is the secret of success, according to AIIMS topper, Abhinav Sidana, who shared a few tips on cracking entrance tests at a press conference held at the Chandigarh Press Club, here today.

His advise to students appearing for competitive examinations was to make copious notes of text studied in regular and coaching classes as well as summarising these for last-minute revision.

Expressing gratitude to his teachers and coaching centre for their contribution, he said a lot of practice must go into the multiple choice questions.

However, this should be done once thorough preparation of the entire syllabi has been done, he added.

The Principal of Excellent Coaching Centre, Prof S.C. Gupta, presented a cheque for Rs 5,100 to Abhinav Sidana and another for Rs 1100 to Nikhil Chawla who secured fourth rank in All-India CBSE PMT, 2001.

Speaking about his new SLS teaching technique which focuses on smart and effortless learning, Prof Gupta said it teaches the students to be interested in what they study, how to employ various memory aids and explains the process of ``Sequential Learning and Hook System’’.

He congratulated other students of the institute who had cleared entrance examinations and gave away cash awards.

Colleges want govt to honour commitment
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 16
The managements of the non-government affiliated colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh condemned the negative attitude of the Punjab Government towards grants-in-aid and pension-cum-gratuity to the teaching and non-teaching employees.

The president, Dr Ishwar Singh, in a press note issued here today, said that the government had backed out of its commitment of pension and gratuity made in December, 1996, as duly approved by the then Cabinet of Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and the Governor of Punjab.

He added that during the recent Punjab elections, the Congress, in its advertisements and election manifesto, had announced that it would implement the pension-cum-gratuity scheme and give 95 per cent grants-in-aid to the colleges.

Claiming that the colleges were facing a financial crunch and were on the brink of closure, he called upon the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, and the Education Minister, Mr Khushal Bahl, to honour their commitments.

He said that the principals and teaching and non-teaching community of these non-government affiliated colleges would hold a protest rally at Matka Chowk, Sector 17, on June 27.

Last date for BE, B.Pharma forms
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 16
Panjab University has fixed June 22 as the last date for receipt of application forms for the courses in Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Science (honours) and Bachelor of Pharmacy for the forthcoming academic session.

The enterance examination for these courses were conducted by the university on May 22. The university has already declared the results on June 3. Students are now required to fill the forms and submit them to the Joint Admission Cell, Department of Chemical Engineering, before final counselling.

The university has fixed July 19 as the last date of submission of forms for M.Phil, certificate and diploma courses and for rest of the courses by June 28. The university has decided that it will not take any responsibility for application forms that are lost during the postal transit.

Students seeking admission in the sports category are required to submit a photocopy of their documents to the Joint Director, Physical Education. They are required to appear for the trials along with their original certificates on July 4 in the university grounds. Students will not be informed separately.

Seminar on education
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 16
Getting education in Australia seems to have caught the fancy of Indian students in the region. It was evident at a seminar organised here today which was attended by more than 100 persons.

While addressing the students, Mr Naresh Gulati, a leading education and immigration consultant for Australia and New Zealand, disclosed that it was now possible for students completing their studies in Australia to apply for permanent residency of Australia without returning to their home country.

COURTS

DISTRICT COURTS
Hearing adjourned
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, June 16
Hearing in a defamation complaint filed against the Chief Minister of Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh, by Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal was adjourned for July 31 by the UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr C.L. Mohal. Mr Sukhbir Badal had filed the complaint against Capt Amarinder Singh for allegedly defaming him and his family through publication of “defamatory” advertisements in newspapers during the assembly elections.

In his complaint under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code, filed before the UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Badal had claimed that the advertisements had wrongly conveyed that the former Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had mortgaged the state’s interest in the SYL canal in lieu of a gift of 22 acres in Gurgaon worth Rs 500 crore.

Remand: An accused, Bhupinder Singh, who had been arrested by the UT police in an NDPS case, was yesterday remanded in judicial custody by a local court. The accused belongs to Nawanshahr in Punjab and was arrested from the ISBT, Sector 17, and had seized 15 kg of poppy husk from his possession.

Sent to jail: An accused, Harpal Singh, who was arrested by the police from Amritsar after 25 years in a murder case, was yesterday produced before the UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr C.L. Mohal, and was sent to Model Burail Jail.

The accused had allegedly murdered a city resident in Sector 15 in 1975. The police had registered a case against the accused on December 9, 1975. A local court had sentenced him to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment. Then he moved an appeal against the order in the High Court and had been sentenced to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment. Thereafter he had moved an appeal before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had reduced the imprisonment for seven years.

Remand for three: Three persons, Ravinder Singh, Gurnam Singh and Harjinder Singh, who were arrested by the operational cell of the UT police, were today remanded in police custody till June 19 by the Duty Magistrate. As per the prosecution, Ravinder Singh, a resident of Trikuta Nagar, Jammu, had allegedly forged documents of at least two buses one of which he had bought at a much lower price than the market value. He had allegedly forged the documents and transferred the registration number of the buses. Ravinder Singh allegedly changed the chassis number of the bus with help of a mechanic, Gurnam Singh.

CULTURE

Play on environment degradation
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, June 16
"Jag Musafir Jag", a street play on environmental degradation and its ill-effects on human life was staged by the Survival Art Theatre in collaboration with the State bank of India at Sukhana Lake here today.

The play, which was started with a saint recalling the good old days when people and nature lived in harmony, went through different stages depicting advent of religion, politics and finally commercialisation that ruthlessly destroyed the green cover of this world.

Depicting the ill-effects of excessive commercialisation and destruction of forest belts in the name of modernisation in the forms of various illness that people suffer today, the play made an appeal to the new generation to undo the wrong, and plant trees to save this world.

The play was written by Madhav Kaushik and directed by Rajinder Gill. The cast included Hunny Walia as saint, Rajinder Gill as thakur, Naurang Grewal as thekedar, Jaipreet Singh as 'pujari', Kamalpreet Singh, Gaurav Singh, Vinod Kumar,Ranjit Kaur and Asha Gill as labourers.