The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

EDUCATION

Last date of BCA, B.Com extended
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, June 25
The last date for submission of forms for BCA, B.Com, M.Sc ( IT) and M.Com has been extended till July 13.

According to information, late declaration of Class XII results in humanities stream by the Punjab School Education Board and delay in despatching of marksheets by the Haryana School Education Board has led to the extension. This information was given by Dr Harjinder Kaur, Principal, Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, which is the central authority of the admission to these courses.

Even Punjabi University, Patiala, has not declared its results for these streams.

Dr S.N. Singla, Principal, Government College for Men, Sector 11, says though today was the last date for the students of general category, the college authorities have decided to give three days time to those students whose results are yet to be declared.

The Government College for Girls, Sector 11, allowed the students to fill up the forms with “result awaited’ written on it. “The college authorities have also kept a provision of late admission with a minimal extra charge in case the result is not declared till July 1, when admission to the courses are to take place.”

The B.Com admission is going to take place on July 19 and continue till July 23, while BCA will start on July 17 and go on till July 18 at Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26. The admission date for M.Sc and M.Com has been scheduled for July 16.

DAV College, Sector 10, is also facing a problem in the admission to Class XI in medical and non-medical stream due to non-declaration of results. The Principal, Mr S. Marriya, said they had already filled up 200 seats, taking students who had secured 80 per cent and above. The college authorities will keep a few seats aside for the students of the Punjab School Education Board. The last date of submission of forms for BBA, BCA, B Com II and III and MSc IT has been extended till July 4.

Class XI admission: last date extended
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 25
The last date for submitting forms for admission to Class XI in government schools has been extended by a day. The forms will now be accepted at Sector 23 Government Model Senior Secondary School on Wednesday also.

According to sources in the UT Education Department, the date has been extended to adjust students of the Punjab School Education Board as their result was declared late.

Why model schools are the ‘preferred ones’
Monica Sharma

Chandigarh, June 25
If you think you can walk into a “good” government school and get admission in Class XI, read this: For obtaining admission in “top” seven or eight Government Model Senior Secondary Schools, as many as 9,000 applications have so far been received. There are a total of 28 Government Senior Secondary Schools in the city.

*Nine thousand students have so far submitted forms for admission to Class XI in government schools.
*Competition made difficult due to presence of just “seven to eight top schools”.
*Cut off percentage in “good schools” is expected to be over 75 per cent in science stream, over 70 per cent in Commerce stream and about 50 per cent in Humanities.

According to sources in the UT Education Department, in these “top schools” there are as many as 22 sections for students interested in Humanities, 28 Sections for science students and just nine sections for Commerce students.

If you find the data confusing, around 1400 students would be accommodated in the Science stream, 540 students in the Commerce stream and nearly 1,320 students in Humanities section. In all, 3,260 students would get admission in these schools, while the rest of the candidates would have to settle for other schools.

As far as the merit is concerned, you need to have above 75 per cent to go in for engineering and medical stream at a later stage. For those interested in taking up Humanities, they ought to have above 50 per cent marks. To make it to the “top eight” schools in commerce section, should preferably above 70 per cent marks.

Regarding the reasons behind the popularity of these schools, sources in the Education Department maintain that the “overall result and the performance of the students is an encouraging factor”.

“As far as the 15-odd model schools in the city are concerned, the pass percentage this year was 75 per cent,” states the principal of a model school on the condition of anonymity. “In non-model schools, the pass percentage was as low as 25. No wonder, the parents want their children to be admitted to the model schools”.

Giving details, he adds: “There is a stiff competition among model schools with `serious’ students preferring `top eight’ schools over the other schools. The reason for this is not very hard to analyse. The toppers belong to these schools”.

Sources insist that the overall environment in these schools is “much better as compared to the other schools”.

“In a substantial number of non-model schools, the medium of instruction is Hindi and Punjabi. As a result, a majority of students from semi-literate families prefer taking admission in these institutions,” says another principal. “Most of the model schools, on the other hand, are English medium. As far as the top ones are concerned, wards of bureaucrats, politicians and businessmen prefer taking admission. Moreover, most of these schools are co-educational. Another attraction, at least for the boys”.

He concludes: “The results, the overall atmosphere and facilities for extra-curricular activities make certain schools figure in the top category. As getting admission in these schools is also considered prestigious, the students make a beeline for taking admission in these institutions”.

(To be concluded)

Principals, teachers hold dharna
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, June 25
On a call of the joint action committee, members of managements, Principals, teachers and non teaching staff of 160 non-government- affiliated colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh held a dharna at the Matka Chowk here in protest against policies of the Punjab Government that includes non payment of salaries to teachers and 35 per cent cut in the grant in aid, besides others. Nearly 200 protesters raised anti-government slogans.

Leaders of the four organisations advocated the logic of the December 18, 1996, pension gratuity scheme and declared that nothing short of the earlier scheme of 1996 would be acceptable by the teachers. The committee also demanded the release of Rs 18 crore grant for the last quarter of 2001-02. It also demanded the total implementation of the already agreed upon UGC notifications, specially giving Reader designation, counting total length of service and giving benefit of past service done in other institutions for placement in higher scales and giving two increments for Ph. D holders from January 1996, onwards.

Mr P.S. Sangha, general secretary of the federation of Associations of Principals of Non-Government- Affiliated Colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh, said if the demands were not accepted immediately, the committee would intensify the protest. The committee is meeting on July13 for this purpose when the further course of action will be chalked out.

In a separate rally held under the banner of the co-ordination committee of professional service association, veterinarian, medicos, agriculture technocrats, engineers and college teachers staged a dharna at the same venue in support of their demands, which included services of professionals selected on merit during the tenure of PPSC chief Ravi Sidhu should not be dispensed with on flimsy grounds and the posts lying vacant in different professional department should be filled immediately.

The dharna was addressed by Dr Gurcharan Singh Chahal, Dr Rajinder Singh, president Punjab State Veterinary Officers Association, Dr Satnam Singh, president Plant Doctors Service Association, Punjab and others.

M.A. English admission rescheduled
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 25
Admissions to MA II English are likely to be rescheduled because students complaining of “unfair marking” in MA I and university agreed to wait for “special re-evaluation results.”

Reliable sources said a decision to this affect was taken by a special committee constituted by the Vice- Chancellor today. Students were summoned and asked by the committee whether they would like re-evaluation by an internal or external examiner. They would give their choice by tomorrow, sources added.

COURTS

HIGH COURT
Medical record
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 25
Issuing notice of motion for July 16 on a petition filed by Panjab University senator Paramjit Singh Pammi seeking directions to the state of Punjab for implementing an order passed by a Special Judge regarding the provision of B-class facility, along with better health care facilities, at Patiala Central Jail, Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice Jasbir Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday asked the respondents to produce the medical record pertaining to the petitioner’s health during the course of his custody.

Claiming to have been implicated in two case registered at Ropar and Patiala, the senator had earlier contended that Ropar’s Special Judge on May 7 had allowed his application and directed the jail authorities to provide better class facility to the accused. The jail superintendent had, however, told the petitioner that court orders had no effect on him,” counsel for the petitioner had added.

Eligibility

A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice of motion for July 22 on a petition filed by a Patiala resident seeking directions to Panjab University, Punjabi University and other institutes for quashing the eligibility criterion for admission to the MCA course.

In his petition taken up by the Bench, comprising Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice Jasbir Singh, Neeraj Aggarwal had earlier contended that in most of the institutes bachelor’s degree in any discipline with at least 50 per cent under the 10-plus-two-plus-three system was required for admission to the MCA course. However, in all the technical fields, students could pursue post-graduate degree in the same stream they had graduated in. Giving example, he had added that a student could do LLM only after he had passed his LLB examinations. The case will now come up for further hearing on July 22.

Notice of motion

On a petition filed by Senior Vice-President of Sirhind Municipal Council, Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice Jasbir Singh of the High Court on Tuesday ordered that the petitioner shall not be dislocated from his office, in case he had not already been removed, till further orders. The Judges also issued notice of motion for June 27.

In his petition, Rakesh Kumar Verma had earlier contended that he was elected Senior Vice-President on June 29 last year, but on July 2, 2001, the President, after tampering with the record, had claimed that the elections hadn’t taken place due to disturbances. Soon after, the Director of Local Government had sought a detailed report. On January 1 this year, a letter was sent to an executive officer stating that the elections had been carried out in accordance with the rules, counsel for the petitioner had added.

He had further claimed that the petitioner, after taking over charge on February 7, had sent a representation to the Director of Local Government for granting him a period of one year from the date of his taking over the charge, but his grievance had not been redressed.

CULTURE

Dance groups return disappointed
Sent back on opening day of Manali festival
Parbina Rashid

Chandigarh, June 25
For the artistes of Kerala and Orissa who had gone to Manali to perform at the three-day summer festival organised by the North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC), the experience will remain a harrowing one. Thanks to the step-motherly treatment meted out to them by the NZCC. After travelling for days to reach their destination, they were promptly sent back to Chandigarh to perform at Kala Gram after a brief performance at the festival.

The two groups, namely the Chhau dance group from Orissa under the banner of Uttarsahi Chhau Nrutya Pratisthan and the Mohiniyattam dance group under the banner of Swathi Chitra from Kerala, were selected by the East Zone Cultural Centre and South Zone Cultural Centre to perform at the Manali festival. But as the organising authority could not slot in time for these two groups in the schedule, after a short performance on the opening day these were directed to pack up and perform at Kala Gram here.

“We had been travelling since June18 by train and when we reached Manali on the opening day we were asked to pack our bags again at midnight and perform at Kala Gram in Chandigarh,” said B.P. Das, who led the Chhau group. “While the EZCC has sponsored us to perform at a national level it was simply unfair that we were debarred from the festival,” he added.

The nine membered Mohiniyattam group from Kerala met with the same fate. Mohiniyattam dance, exponent Kalamandalam Leelamma came with her troupe under the leadership of her poet husband Kilimannor Madhu, Chairman of the Swathi Chitra dance group. They were also given little time to show their skill.

“Instead of giving us 15 minutes each as decided earlier, we were given only six minutes and our performances were scheduled at the end of the show when most of the audience had left,” said Dusmanta Das, leader of the Chhau dance group. Not to mention the cumbersome process of unpacking and packing on the same day and then travelling for another 10 hours from Manali to Chandigarh after such a hectic train journey from Orissa and Kerala.

“When one comes from far-flung places, one should be given a chance to see at least a little of the place, but instead we were herded back and again scheduled to perform in Chandigarh without any rest,” said Madhusmita Das, a young dancer of the group.

However, the audience are also to be blamed who seem to be less receptive towards other cultures. “The festival was full of bhangra numbers and other folk dances of different parts of India. The audience were much more interested in gyrating to the tune of bangra beats,” said B.P. Das.

The NZCC authorities said people here preferred bhangra to anything else and keeping that in mind more bhangra and other popular folk dance groups had been inducted for the festival. “People have very less patience for classical dances and these performances take a long time , that is the reason these two groups were sent back,” a source said. Though Mohiniyattam is a classical dance but Chhau dance is an energetic dance form somewhat akin to martial arts.

However, the irony remains that the summer festival is organised every year by the NZCC in collaboration with the Himachal Government for cultural exchange and for providing a national platform to the folk artistes. The festival had started on June 22 and concluded yesterday.

Dance workshop concludes
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 25
Ajit Karam Singh International School, Sector 41, here was the venue for the concluding show of a dance workshop organised by Naveen Nritya Kala Kendra.

The month-long workshop on folk dances and kathak today met its finale with children putting forth their graceful best. The commencement was well-made in the form of a full kathak sequence prepared by kids between age group six and eight. This sequence featured Tanvi, Isha and Deepika. The second presentation of the evening came from Aman Kaura, who regaled the audience with a brilliant kathak piece. This was followed by yet another classical kathak choreography presented by children between 10 and 12 years of age. Nidhi and Neha teamed up for the fourth presentation of the show, which was well received.

Later, Surbhi Sehgal and Mairti Gupta presented the technique of Jaipur kathak, under the title of jhap taal. They were matched in grace by Devanshi, who presented the last kathak item of the show.

After a classical style presentation it was time to focus on folk dances. The beginning was made with a Rajasthani folk dance presentation, followed by a Punjabi medley presented by Aditi, Mansi, Bhavna, Preeti, Simpa, Taran, Amrita, Achit, Prince and Jasmine. Then came juniors, who presented a Rajasthani folk dance.