The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDUCATION

DUTA declares ‘save higher education’ week
Our Correspondent

New Delhi, September 6
The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has declared the week starting on September 9 as the “Save Higher Education Week”. DUTA, at its general body meeting on August 21, had declared that it would go on strike from September 10 to September 16 in retaliation to the University Grants Commission (UGC) directives, increasing teachers’ work hours, reducing teaching staff and temporary moratorium on appointments. Even though the bar on fresh appointments has been lifted by the UGC, the DUTA still remains adamant on its demands that the UGC retract its directives.

The DUTA claims that the UGC directives, if implemented, would “destroy the very purpose of higher education”. The DUTA points out that various countries, including the USA and Canada, spend higher amounts on education. It also points out that private participation will lead to excessive commercialisation of education and will “put it out of the reach of the not-so-affluent education seekers.”

The DUTA commences the strike on Tuesday with a dharna at each college. On the succeeding day, it plans to march from Ferozeshah Kotla Grounds to the UGC. On Thursday, there will be a dharna outside Lady Shri Ram College and the next day a dharna outside Shyamlal College. There will be a torchlight procession from Vivekanand Statue to the Vice-Chancellor’s office on Saturday. The strike concludes on September 16 with a march around the campus ending at the Vice-Chancellor’s office.

The DUTA plans to compel the UGC to take back its directives by staging protests and boycotting education. It has appealed to the students to join the protest and “save higher education”. The DUTA believes that the strike not only stands to benefit the teachers from excessive workload but also the students, who will continue to have access to affordable education.

DUSU POLL
Rain plays spoilsport, only 30 pc turnout
Our Correspondent

Campaigning, DU-style!

New Delhi, September 6
The rain gods finally relented and provided some relief from the sweltering weather, but this had a negative bearing on the DUSU elections, affecting the voter turn-out. Only 30 per cent of the students decided to brave the rain to cast their vote. The day of reckoning for election candidates turned out to be an anti-climax compared to the pre-poll shenanigans.

As the NSUI and the ABVP supporters turned out in large numbers to patrol the
colleges and make a final impression on the voters, the electorate decided to stay home. The exit poll of the few who did prefer to brave the weather suggests a close fight between ABVP and NSUI, confirming the mass opinion — that of a split panel.

Nakul Bharadwaj (ABVP) was marginally ahead of Ragini Nayak (NSUI) while the rest of the posts had NSUI leading over ABVP. The results from evening colleges were still not recorded and reports from some colleges – where counting began late – were still not in. Fears of confrontation between supporters were laid to rest as the security arrangements ensured non-violent electoral process. There was the odd instance of misdemeanour in certain colleges such as Zakir Hussain College, where the police, on precautionary basis, arrested Sohail Mirza, an ABVP supporter. Mirza was released later in the day.

All in all, the Delhi Police in co-operation with the CRPF, were able to contain the passion of the voters and supporters, thus sustaining the absence of violence. The results of college elections were declared today, bringing forth positive signs for the NSUI. The NSUI swept the 6 posts of the college office in 12 colleges.

The two parties were eagerly awaiting results from the rest of the colleges and were anticipating the DUSU election results tomorrow. Both parties seem to be confident of their supremacy over the other

Korean scientist visits MDU today
Our Correspondent

Rohtak, September 6
Dr Song-Do-Han, a leading scientist of the Korea Institute of Energy Research, will visit Maharshi Dayanand University tomorrow to interact with scientists and teachers of the Chemistry Department with whom he has been having collaboration in “Energy Saving Research Project” for the past several years.

Dr Song-Do Han has been working on electroluminescent materials used in flat panels (laptop computers) and other energy saving devices. The team led by him is also engaged in developing new devices for the cheap production

of hydrogen-a clean fuel for the future. Dr Song-Do-Han, who got his Ph.D from France and worked with Lo Semiconductors for several years, is a well-known name in the field of electronics and semi-conductors.

Prof Ishwar Singh and Dr K. C. Singh of the Chemistry Department of Maharshi Dayanand University visited Korea in the recent past and worked with Dr Song-Do-Han in his research work. Dr Song is also working with Prof Ishwar Singh and Dr K. C. Singh on joint research projects.

At present, Dr S. P. Khatkar and Dr Vinod Bala of this university are working in Korea with Dr Song’s research team.

The visiting Korean scientist will explore the possibility of setting up an advanced laboratory for energy saving research in the Chemistry Department of this university. During his stay in India, he will also visit some nearby universities.

Meanwhile, Maharshi Dayanand University has planned to launch a campaign against the use of polythene bags on September 24. The volunteers of the NSS from all affiliated colleges of the university will take out processions on that day to awaken and educate the public about the hazards of using polythene bags.

The NSS volunteers have also been advised to plant samplings in their respective college premises as a part of the tree plantation drive during the current academic session. These volunteers have been asked to ensure survival of the plants planted by them.

DPS sets up virtual classroom
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 6
The Delhi Public School Society today launched satellite-based collaborative learning programme here with a view to increase access, equity and quality of learning of education.

“Edu-links is an attempt to reach out to the marginalised rural and urban child population through satellite-based interactive learning programme,” said senior congress leader and president of the DPS Society, Mr Salman Khurshid, while launching the programme.

He said through this programme teachers and students operating from a hub in Delhi would be able to reach out to the children across the country.

Twenty-nine centres will be connected in the first phase of the programme.

A teacher at the studio can interact with the student in distant classrooms with her voice and image transmitted from a central studio to the remote classrooms via satellite. Students will participate in the session through television or a personal computer using standard touch-tone telephones.

The chairman of the DPS Society, Mr Narendra Kumar, said the programme would further enhance the role of the teachers rather than eliminating their role.

Parents slam NCERT curriculum framework

New Delhi, September 6
A group of parents and teachers has slammed the NCERT for preparing a curriculum, which, they allege, is “ a blatant and aggressive violation of both the procedure and conception of education”. These parents who claim to have studied the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) in a bid to understand the proposals have pointed out certain “dangerous components”.

In a statement issued here, the group alleged that integration of “education about religions” into all subjects and co-curricular activities, introduction of vocational education after class X, orienting education towards the market through vocationalisation, advocating an uncritical acceptance of the so-called virtues of current globalisation policies, diluting the content of science and history in the curriculum and denying mainstream education to physically handicapped were the dangerous components of the suggested curriculum. “What is the need for including religion in studies? Religion should be kept completely separate from education and as far as values are concerned, values can be picked from practical life and not just religions,” pointed out Mr Rajesh R., a member of the group. TNS