EDUCATION

GROVES OF ACADEME
V-Cs’ meeting to open a new chapter in academic excellence
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 17
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is organising a two-day First National Convention of Vice-Chancellors of Accredited Universities-Towards Academic Excellence on May 21 and 22, 2003 at the India International Centre, here.

Around 100 vice-chancellors will participate in the seminar. Speakers and resource persons for the workshop and seminar include UGC members, eminent educationists and academics from all over the country.

NAAC has also invited the funding agencies like DST, DBT, ICHR, AICTE, NCTE, CSIR, ICSSR etc. to interact with the accredited university heads. Prof Murli Manohar Joshi, Minister of Human Resource Development, Science and Technology and Ocean Development has been invited to inaugurate the seminar on May 21 and Dr Vallabh Bhai Ramji Bhai Kathiria, Minister of Human Resource

Development, Science and Technology will be the guest of honour. The accelerating pace of economic globalisation and internationalisation of higher education has thrown up new challenges and opportunities to the academicians, university leaders and policy-makers.

Therefore, the Indian universities have greater responsibility than ever before. In order to cope with the competitive times, they are required to acquire new adaptive capacities to meet the emerging developments.

NAAC has so far accredited 418 colleges and 94 universities. More than 200 institutions are in the process of performance evaluation. To enhance the rate of accreditation, it plans to accreditate 1,000 institutes per year in the coming years. NAAC’s activities have created quality consciousness among the academic community.

The First National Convention of Vice-Chancellors of Accredited Universities is being organised by the NAAC at a time when it is completing the assessment and accreditation of about 100 universities across the country.

It is an occasion to look back. How effective and useful the system of performance evaluation has been in enhancing the credibility of academic programmes and governance in the universities with changing times.

The focus of the convention is to understand the enabling strategies from the perspective of the vice-chancellors of the accredited universities and policy planners about the post-accreditation developments and also to provide meaningful direction to the universities to be accredited.

The convention will provide a forum to gather the views of vice-chancellors to internalise the culture of quality consciousness as an integral feature in the Indian universities. The convention aims to evolve an action plan to create a conducive atmosphere for the focused development of the universities and guide them towards attaining high academic excellence.

The endeavour is to develop the focus on higher education so that quality education is accessible to all sections of society.

COURTS

Give six-month training to judicial officers: DBA
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 17
The Capital-based district bar associations have demanded that at least six months’ training should be imparted to the newly selected officers before assigning them independent judicial work.

The demand was made in a resolution adopted by the office-bearers of Tis Hazari, Patiala House and Karkardooma District Court Bar

Associations at a joint meeting on Thursday evening and released to the media last night.

“At present, there is no hard and fast system and that often leads to problems,” Tiz Hazari Delhi Bar Association (DBA) president Rajiv Khosla said.

The participants resolved to request Delhi High Court Chief Justice B.C. Patel “that the training period of the newly selected judicial officers should be at least six months before they are given independent judicial work”.

They set up a 10-member joint coordination committee of office-bearers of the DBA, the New Delhi Bar Association and the Karkardooma Bar Association.

The committee with NDBA president K.K. Manan as chairman and Mr Khosla as convenor is to meet once a month.

The resolution, to be submitted to Mr Justice Patel, criticised the plan to divide Delhi district courts.

The participants opposed re-distribution of work among magistrates since May 12.

They said that it was causing harassment to the litigants.

The participants also voiced reservations over creation of tribunals “advocated by the vested interests”.

Alluding to the recent arrest of a former High Court judge and other such occurrences, they asked the authorities not to spare “any judicial officer” indulging in corruption.

“It has been resolved that the corruption in judiciary, which has come to light recently, be strongly condemned and any judicial officer found indulging in such activities not be spared and be dealt with strongly in accordance with the law,” the resolution said.

CAT notice to LG and Transport Commissioner
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 17
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has issued a notice to the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor and the Transport Commissioner on a petition filed by a Motor Vehicle Inspector alleging various injustices meted out to him.

The Principal Bench of CAT comprising Mr Justice V. S. Aggarwal and Mr Justice V. K. Majotra issued notices, returnable on June 26, on the petition which claimed that a false charge sheet had been filed against the petitioner, K. K. Sharma, and he was denied promotion to the post of Motor Licensing Officer on the ground that the charge sheet was pending whereas in reality he had already been exonerated after completion of the departmental proceedings.

Sharma’s counsel Surat Singh argued that once the alleged charges had been decided and his client held not guilty the Transport Department should have promoted him. But instead persons junior to the petitioner were promoted and Sharma was asked to report to such promotees, he said.

The petitioner had made a representation to this effect but it did not bear fruit, he added.