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April 19, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Teachers resent transfers in middle of session Chandigarh, April 18 The standard procedure for the general transfers, which normally starts somewhere in May, gets completed by the end of June, requiring the transferred teachers to join their new assignments by July 1, the time the schools re-open after a month-long summer break. Though the teachers get mentally prepared by that time to face a new challenge, it is the student community who has to struggle hard in order to adjust to a new face and a new teaching methodology. “It is a two-way loss for the students studying in the government schools,” says a teacher on condition of anonymity. “According to the transfer policy of the UT Education Department, a headmaster has to get transferred after every five years and teachers who are working in the rural areas in and around Chandigarh after every two years. But there are number of teachers and headmasters still slogging in their old positions year after year simply because they do not know anyone in the higher up positions in the department,” a source alleges. “For the past two years their has been no transfers in the headmaster category and even those people who applied for mutual transfer have been subjected to an everlasting wait,” the source adds. Though the authorities of the Education Department say that the excess workload is the reason for this delay, at they justify their action saying that since the students have to attend only two months of classes in the beginning of the session before the vacation, it does not much harm their study pattern. “Right now we are busy with the admission procedures and then new recruitment drive which is starting from April 22,” says District Education Officer Rajesh Choudhury. Justifying that summer vacations are the ideal time for finalising the transfers of teachers, Mr D.S. Mangat, Director Public Instruction (DPI), says that since it takes time to complete the official procedures of transfer and then inform the teachers and issue appointment letters, this time gives a breathing space to the teachers. However, the teaching community who differs with the DPI’s viewpoint feel the procedure should start from March itself so that by April, teachers should be joining in their new schools. |
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ABVP for new laws on admissions Chandigarh, April 18 This was stated by Mr Ramesh Pappa, national General Secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, while addressing a press conference here today. He said a step in this direction was urgent because recent times had witnessed decentralised admissions in a majority of institutions which had led to fleecing of the students. The government should ensure centralised admissions for professional courses at least at the state level, he said. Mr Pappa said education “is charity and not business” and this was relevant in the context that the ABVP was opposed to “inclusion of education in the services category as was planned in the WTO agreement”. The ABVP is organising a two-day symposium at Bangalore from April 24 on “Effect of globalisation on education” as its subject. He criticised the government’s action of releasing terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir in the “name of healing touch.” The people of the country are instead waiting for “adecisive battle against terrorism announced by the Prime Minister earlier”, Mr Pappa
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Special
chance for honours students Chandigarh, April 18 The last date for application has been fixed as April 28 without late fee. Students can apply till May 5 on payment of a late fee. Examinations of these students will be conducted along with the examinations of the regular students scheduled later this year. The centre of examination for applicants in this category will be Chandigarh alone. |
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Will PU students be affected by fee hike? Chandigarh, April 18 Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor, said the university was not governed by the Punjab Government with regard to the fee structure”, but Mr N.S. Rattan, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, Punjab, said the new fee structure would definitely cover the PU as well. The university authorities said the PU resorted to regular fee hike of 10 per cent annually to meet the growing annual deficit. Mr Rattan said 40 per cent of the university funding was done by the Punjab Government, so the policy changes would definitely be conveyed to the university as well. “There cannot be two different fee structures for postgraduate courses in colleges, on one hand and on the university campus on the other. The government will work out the required enhancement of fee required and convey the same to the university,” he said. The university authorities said the university was an autonomous body so the government had no direct control over its functioning, particularly fees. The Punjab government was expected to meet 40 per cent of the university budget, however, there was no provision for any control on the fee structure. Professor Pathak said fee hike could likely affect students in the colleges of the university located in Hoshiarpur, Ferozepore, Moga and Ludhiana districts. The PU had received a circular from the government a few years back asking it to revise its fee structure on the pattern of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and Punjabi University, Patiala. The university constituted a committee and it was decided that the university would resort to a fee hike of 10 per cent annually or 20 per cent after two years. Under the revised rates, the admission fee has been increased from Rs 10 to Rs 750 for undergraduate courses. For the postgraduate courses, the fee will be Rs 1,000 while a student will pay Rs 1250 for PhD. The tuition fee has been increased to Rs 350 per month in case of undergraduate courses and Rs 650 per month in case of postgraduate courses. Interestingly, the PU was already charging a higher tuition fee as compared to the neighbouring universities. |
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Science
literacy workshop enters fourth phase Chandigarh, April 18 The earlier three workshops, organised over the last two months, focused more on the introduction of the programme which has support of the Union Government. Organised in schools and then in Sector 17 piazza, the workshop has already reached a mature stage where regular participants have been familiarised with its aims and objectives, as also with the application of vital techniques which resource persons at CEVA have developed for use in the current workshop. Some teachers are even using these tools. In its effort to promote science and maths through games, toys, puzzles, especially designed by experts, CEVA has also sought the help of some of the successful NGOs working in this field. Regular research support is being taken from Jodo Gyan, a Delhi-based NGO, which is considered a pioneer in conceiving and developing tools critical to making science and maths lovable to children. Today’s workshop focused on generation of ideas and skills for activity based science education. The rest of the three days that follow will also include hands on situations to practice teaching skills required to deal effectively with science. Those interested to learn the new techniques of learning so-called difficult subjects can just walk into the State Library, Sector 34 at 4 pm on all days except Sunday (April 20) when the workshop will last the whole day. |
DISTRICT COURTS Chandigarh, April 18 The UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr C.L. Mohal, said a lenient view would be taken by the courts while settling traffic challan cases. Mr Mohal added that 18 benches had been constituted to deal with 896 cases that included motor accident cases, matrimonial disputes, rent matters, and recovery matters.
6-month RI in theft case
A city resident, Bikram Singh, was on Friday sentenced to six-month rigorous imprisonment in a case of theft by the UT Additional Chief Judicial
Magistrate (ACJM), Mr Harbhajan Das. The accused was also fined Rs 500. According to the prosecution the complainant, Mr Sanjiv Chopra, a resident of Sector-27, had lodged a complaint with the police that someone had stolen his motor cycle while it was parked outside his house. Later, on October 5, 2001, the investigating officer received an information that Bikram was dismantling the motor cycle behind the Press Club in Sector 27. Thereafter, the complainant, along with the investigating officer, went to the spot and the accused was caught by the police. A case was registered under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC.
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Cable TV wires: notices to MC, 4 others SAS Nagar, April 18 It was also alleged that inspite of an undertaking by the Cable TV Operators Association, SAS Nagar, to the president of the MC at a meeting on March 28 that all those cable TV wires and junction boxes which were fixed on electricity poles shall be removed voluntarily on or before April, 10, nothing had been done in this regard. Besides, the MC, the Post Master, Ropar, SITI Cable, Chandigarh, Future Communications Network Ltd., Chandigarh, and SAS Nagar Cable TV Operators Association have been made responsible. According to information provided by Mr Walia before the filing of the suit, the Federation of Consumers Rights had held a meeting with the Subdivisional Magistrate, here on February 28 where in the representatives of the Cable TV Operators Association had agreed to remove the wires and poles from streets in case no permission was given by the MC. But they neither removed the cable wires and poles nor obtained any permission. Further at the meeting held at the MC office on March 28, it was agreed by the cable TV operators that they would pay a consolidated amount of Rs 1500 to the MC as the annual ground rent for the wires laid in the town, but nothing had been done. |
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