EDUCATION

MDU told to change seat category
Jatinder Sharma

Rohtak, February 22
Setting aside the orders passed by Civil Judge (Junior Division) Rajni Yadav, Additional District Judge Raghvinder Singh Bahmani has directed Maharshi Dayanand University to change the admission of Ms Sumedha, a student of MSc (Physics), from sponsored/payment seat to that of general category seat.

Ms Sumedha, daughter of Mr Bajender Partap of Talloo village in Jhajjar district, appeared in the entrance test held by the university on July 2, 2002 seeking admission in MSc (Physics) in the ‘free seat’ as well as ‘paid seat’ categories by paying the additional fee of Rs 400. She secured 111.06 marks and secured 30th rank in the examination. The university displayed the first merit list on July 9 and second merit list on July 11 but unfortunately her name was not in both the lists.

Ms Sumedha contacted the head of the department on July 11 and on his advice, she took admission against the ‘paid seat’ the same day. Otherwise, from July 13 onwards, the university would have charged the late admission fee of Rs 1,000.

She alleged that the head of the department had assured her that whenever a ‘free seat’ became available, she would be considered in that category and the amount paid in excess refunded. She was also advised that it would avoid loss of her class attendance.

Within 15 days of the normal admissions, not only one but seven seats in the general category accrued. But instead of filling these seats from the general category, the university decided to fill them from the sponsored seat category. In fact, it was the duty of the university to automatically shift the payment seat candidates, who have already taken admission, to the general category.

Mr Bahmani said that even if she had also opted for the payment seat and got admission against it, she could not be stopped from claiming her right to the vacant general category seat. Even the brochure of the university has allowed the candidates through only one form to apply for general category seats as well as sponsored/paid seats. Hence, she has a right to the vacant seat despite the fact that she had applied for the sponsored seat as well.

Corporates recognise the cornucopia of IT talent
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 22
The annual function of Young IT Professionals Awards 2003 (YITPA), organised by the Computer Society of India (CSI), culminated today with Mr Kapil Sibal, member of Parliament, giving away the awards to the winners.

The mega IT event witnessed an overwhelming response from the young professionals across the northern region. The contestants who made it to the final round were Pankaj Lal Gupta of Pan India Electromach for his project, Travel Management System; K.R. Ramanujam for his project Automation of ISO 9001 audits; Varun Agarwal of NSIT, University of Delhi for his project on evolving sinusoidal oscillators using genetic algorithms; and Prashant Bajaj of Worldwide Infosys Ltd for the Fincop Project, a financial and information management system project.

Kapil was happy to see the excitement, commitment and awareness among the young participants. Also presiding over the award ceremony were prominent members from the corporate world and the media fraternity.

The final round, held at India International Centre, saw a tough competition between the participants. The final winner was adjudged on the basis of creativity, innovation, viability and longevity of his project. A team of professionals from CSI first screened the projects submitted by the participants and the outstanding projects were selected for the final presentation. The second and final screening was done by a panel of eminent judges including Navyug Mohnot of QAI, Anil Tandon of Idea Cellular and Vinod Gulati of NHPC.

Aimed at providing young IT professionals with the opportunity to show their knowledge, technical prowess and excellence in their field of work, the aw ards are a step forward to bring IT talent to the forefront. The awards also provide a platform for the industry to interact with the budding talent.

The final three candidates selected from all chapters will now meet at the national level competition, scheduled to be held in Mumbai in March.

The regional vice-president, North Chapter, CSI, Mr Kewal Kohli, said on the occasion, “To promote young IT professionals and provide an impetus to the industry, which has seen some of the most remarkable inventions and innovations, the Computer Society of India organises events such as YITPA on yearly basis.”

He added, “It has been our constant endeavor to promote IT talent in India and we will continue doing so in order to provide recognition to the efforts of young talent in our country.”

Open varsities like Ignou trail-blazing: Unesco
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 22
Sir John Daniel, Assistant Director General, Unesco, today said that open universities like Ignou have created a revolution by combining the three essential features of quality, access and cost in providing the higher education all over the world.

He was delivering the 14th convocation address of Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou). A total of 81,931 students including 40 gold medallists received degrees/diplomas and certificates at the ceremony. Mr Kasturirangan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was the Guest of Honour. The university conferred the degrees of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) on Sir John Daniel and Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) on Dr K Kasturirangan, Chairman, ISRO.

“Education is a human right and I applaud India for enshrining that right in the Constitution. Furthermore, the right to education is the key to unlocking other human rights. Wherever it is guaranteed, people have a greater chance to access and enjoy other rights. Second, education is a key to freedom. Third, education is the route to development,” Sir John Daniel said.

Open universities like Ignou demonstrate that you can have wider access, higher quality and lower costs—all att the same time, which had never happened before. Due to this dynamism, distance education in general, and open universities in particular, will lead education in the 21 century, he stated.

Sir Daniel added that he was delighted to see Ignou as the world’s largest university. The university has given access to higher education to hundreds of thousands of people. Even more importantly, you have not only made higher education available to more people, you have brought learning to people who could not previously aspire to it because of where they live or who they are,” he added.

COURTS

Horse racing: HC quashes licence fee hike plea
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 22
The Delhi High Court has rejected a plea filed by the Delhi Race Club against the alleged ten-time increase in the licence fee for horse racing or betting thereon.

A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Devinder Gupta and Justice B.D. Ahmed dismissed the petition saying the government had unfettered discretion to decide the quantum of the levy.

The court offered that the only thing that had to be checked was whether it was unduly excessive, which is not so in the present case.

The judges said that the said fee had not been revised for several years and was done so now keeping in mind the cost evaluation of the rise in inflation over the years.

On April 11 last, the High Court had issued notices to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Lt-Governor of Delhi on the petition which sought quashing of the Delhi Race Course Licences (Amendment) Rules, 2001, and consequently, setting aside the ten-times increase in licence fee for horse racing or betting thereon.

The fee was enhanced from Rs 2,000 to Rs 20,000 per race for Delhi races, and Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 per race for outstation races.

The petition further charged that since the government was not providing any service, it should not charge any fee and that the Delhi government had no jurisdiction to levy fee for outstation races.

The Supreme Court had earlier held that horse racing was a game, a sport which required skills. If other games and sports were not charged fees then why should the same be charged for horse racing, the petition asked.

It also sought quashing of a Central government notification extending the Mysore Race Courses Licensing Act to the national Capital. The court had issued the notices asking whether a law made when Delhi was a Union Territory could continue after it became a state.

The petition, filed by the Delhi Race Club, claimed that the application of the Mysore Act extended to the then Union Territory of Delhi by the Government notification dated October 1984, ceased with effect from January 1992 when the national Capital was given its own Legislative Assembly. The notification was issued under the Union Territories (Laws) Act, through which the Centre could extend a law of a ‘State’ to a ‘Union Territory’ but not to another ‘State’, the petition stated.