EDUCATION

Dahiya on Cambridge varsity expert panel
Jatinder Sharma

Rohtak, March 24
The University of Cambridge has recognised the academic excellence of Prof Shri Bhagwan Dahiya by putting him on the panel of experts on regional studies. In the academic world, it is considered to be a great honour to a scholar.

Dr Shri Bhagwan Dahiya, an internationally distinguished economist, is the Director of the Institute of Development Studies and Dean of the Faculty of Education, Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU). He is also a member of the university’s executive council, the court and academic council. At the MDU, Dr Dahiya has also been the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Head of the Department of Economics, Director of the Directorate of Distance Education, Chief Warden, Chairman of the Departmental Promotion Committee, Chairman of the high-powered Purchase Committee etc.

Prof Dahiya has also been a visiting professor at the University of Rome, the University of TUSCIA at Viterbo in Italy, the University of Canberra in Australia and a visiting fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, the University of Sussex in the UK.

The French Government has twice awarded him the Indo-French Programme of Co-operation in Social Sciences Award in 1995 and 2001. Under this award, Dr Dahiya has been a visiting professor at the University of Paris, the University of Grenoble and the MSH, Paris. He is also an awardee of the commonwealth academic staff fellowship in the UK.

Besides this, the Carvit Foundation of Italy invited Dr Dahiya to deliver the Schumpter Lecture in 1999. Dr Dahiya has also been a discussant in the World Economic Congress and a referee for the selection of professor of economics at the University of Pittsburgh in the US.

Dr Dahiya has a large number of publications to his credit. Some of his papers have been published with the papers of Nobel laureates such as Jan Tinbergen, Kenneth J. Arrow, T. W. Schultz etc and the internationally distinguished scholars like K. Kasturirangan, D. Swaminadhan, Manmohan Singh, I. G. Patel, D. T. Lakdawala, C. N. Vakil, Raja J. Chelliah, S. Gupta, P. R. Bramananda etc.

In addition, there are a number of other distinctions to Dr Dahiya’s credit. He also has been a member of various committees of the University Grants Commission and the Union Public Service Commission.

Students in a fix as engg exam dates clash
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, March 24
Hundreds of students from the National Capital Region (NCR), especially from areas falling in Haryana, face the bitter eventuality of being deprived from appearing in either the joint entrance exam for engineering stream in Delhi or Haryana.

The reason for this is that the dates in the two states for the exams fall on the same day, June 1.The fact that the exam timings are in the morning and evening shifts does not extenuate the gravity of the situation. In the far-flung areas in Haryana, it will be difficult for the students to take one entrance exam in Haryana and return to Delhi to take another exam. Students residing in Delhi face the same problem.

The common dates of the exams in the joint entrance exams in the two states may be coincidental but it flies in the face of the ground rules laid down vide the National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986.

For admission to engineering, pharmacy and architecture/planning programmes, the Government of India vide a resolution dated October 18,2000, has laid down a “Three-Exam Scheme (JEE and AIEEE at the national level and the State Level Institutions-with an option to join AIEEE). This was meant to take care of varying admission standards in these programmes and help in maintenance of professional standards. This also solved problems of overlaps and reduced physical, mental and financial burden on students and their parents due to multiplicity of entrance examinations.

As per the PoG, there is Joint Entrance Exam(JEE) for the IITs and some top brand engineering institutes of the country which hold its exams. The other entrance exam at the all-India level is held under the auspices of All-India Engineering/Pharmacy/Architecture Entrance Examination (AIEEE).At the state level one university/nodal body is authorised the conducting authority for holding entrance exams. However, this is also not the case as some institutes like the Delhi School of Engineering does not conduct its exams under the auspices of Indraprastha University, the authority for conducting common entrance exams for the institutes in Delhi. For Haryana, Maharashi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, is the supervening authority to conduct the common entrance exams for the institutes in the state.

Those from Haryana and Delhi, especially from the NCR zone, appear to be most distressed over the development.

‘Change a constant factor for IT evolution’
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 24
The Bharatiya Vidyapeeth Institute of Management and Research organised a two-day faculty development programme on .NET Technologies. The programme that concluded here today was inaugurated by the Senate and Academic Counsellor of Pune University, Dr Parchure. Speaking on the occasion, Dr S. S. Vernekar, Director of the institute, said change was the only constant factor in evolution and it aptly applied to the IT sector.

The workshop concentrated on training and developing the faculty members from different institutes for the .NET Framework, its basic concepts, programming and other features.

Among those who were present on the occasion were Dr Shah, Dean, D. Y. Patil Ayurvedic College, Pune, Dr Joshi, Principal, BV Ayurvedic College, and delegates from eight management institutes. The guest speaker was Mr Ravi Shankar, Project Leader, CMC Ltd. 

CULTURE

A rare treat of miniatures for art lovers 
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 24
For lovers of traditional art, this is an opportunity that is rare to come by. A public viewing of the Kishangarh miniatures. The collection was formally inaugurated on March 21 by His Highness Maharaja Arvind Singh of Mewar and the Secretary, Textiles, Mr S.B. Mahapatra.

This art exhibition showcases the works of some master artists who have been handpicked from a school of artists who keep the art alive.

Presenting the way of life in this historical city, the exhibition also showcases some rare elements that are part of the royal heirlooms and synonymous with the art and craft of the region.

An installation of the rare Pichwais, a peep into the erotic art and an installation that depicts life in Rajasthan includes game scenes, the ethereal Radha in Kishangarh School, migratory birds to Rajasthan, many that can still be found in the lake that surrounds the Phool Mahal, now converted into a heritage property, and a depiction of royal lifestyle that is rooted in the past.

Supported by Mount Shivalik, this exhibition indeed furthers the dream of Their Highnesses to once again bring alive the art of miniatures that emerged in the quiet courts of Kishangarh in the 18th century and epitomised the level of rich creativity that this kingdom is synonymous with.