Minister promises higher education for poor
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, July 26
Principals from over 150 colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh participated in a conference on ‘Excellence in academics’ at the Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Model Town, here today.

While presiding over the conference, Mr Khushal Behl, Education Minister, Punjab, said new education policies would be formulated in consultation with the college principals so as to make higher education more affordable to students from middle and lower middle classes. He urged the principals to ensure more discipline in the college atmosphere and themselves act as role models for the students.

Mr Behl admitted that the colleges were facing financial crisis and several posts of lecturers were lying vacant in the government colleges. He assured them their problems would be solved on priority basis. He also said that quarterly salary grant pending for the months from November to February as well as that for arrears would be disbursed soon.

Mr N.S. Rattan, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, said the principals should ensure 180 working days in colleges and try to minimise their holidays. He also stressed that they should encourage reference reading among the students so that they fully utilise the available library facilities.

The conference was also addressed by Ms Inderjit Gill Vashisht, Principal of the Government College for Women, Ludhiana, Mr Raj Kumar Sharma, Principal, DAV College, Jalandhar, Mr Avtar Singh, Principal, Government College, Gurdaspur, and Mr Jagmohan Singh Walia, Principal, Mata Gujri College, Fatehgarh Sahib. The principals presented their demands including subsidising of higher education, more concessions for poor students, closing down of technical education shops, releasing more funds for NCC, NSS, sports and other cultural activities.

Meanwhile, the executive committee members of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU) submitted a memorandum to the minister, raised slogans against the anti-higher education policies of the government and burnt copies of notification issued by Mr Rattan. Prof Parminder Singh, president of the union, Prof Kanwaljit Singh, secretary, Prof K.B.S. Sodhi, former president, said the notification was a bundle of negative features depriving the teachers of their provident fund, gratuity, commutation amount and family pension provision.

Prof Sodhi deplored that the higher education in Punjab was being eliminated very systematically and such conditions were being created that talented and able persons would have to abstain from joining teaching profession. He said higher education was becoming quite unaffordable to children from middle and lower middle class. He said Punjab which has already been relegated to 17th position in the country would go still further under the prevailing circumstances. 

Teachers resent poll duties
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, July 26
Resentment prevails among the members of the Government Primary Teachers Association over their deployment at far off places for performing non-teaching duties.

Stating this in a press note, Mr B.K. Moudgill, general secretary of the association, said hundreds of school teachers were being told to shun teaching work and school and instead prepare voters’ list from distant places. He said the teaching atmosphere in schools was much disrupted and students were getting affected. After the teachers finish with this task on August 14, they would hold a rally on August 18 demanding exemption from non-teaching duties, he said.

On August 18, the teachers would also be burning copies of the Budget presented by Mr Lal Singh, Finance Minister, Punjab. The teachers would be demanding rollback of the decision to scrap certain allowances and other facilities. 

BCA students feel harassed
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, July 26
Several students of BCA final year studying in colleges of Punjab Technical University who had got compartment in their Vth semester are a harassed lot.

While the students have passed out their final year, results of their supplementary examination held after Vth semester have not been declared yet. Under such circumstances, the students said they were being denied admissions by all universities, including the PTU. The students said despite repeated requests, their demand was not being accepted by the university authorities. They said the last date of admission for majority of the postgraduate courses in different colleges was July 31 and in case the result was not declared within a day or two, they would be forced to waste one precious academic year.

Tangri’s remand extended
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, July 26
The Judicial Magistrate, Ms Pratima Arora, today extended the police remand of Shiv Sena (Rashtarwadi) chief Jagdish Tangri for one day on the request of the police in the absence of his counsel.

Tangri’s counsel showed resentment on the behaviour of the police as police produced the accused in court at about 11 a.m. and he could not put forth the version of his client.