The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDUCATION

HAMARA SCHOOL
GOVERNMENT HIGH SCHOOL SALEM TABRI
A school that is an eye opener for many
Deepkamal Kaur

A view of Government High School, Salem Tabri

Till two years ago, Government High School, Salem Tabri, had just four dingy rooms with no power supply. The school did not even have water supply and children had to walk to a tubewell in the adjacent fields to fetch water. There was no playground but a huge open, kutcha space of the school which could not be used because of numerous, deep pot holes. Since the school did not even have any boundary wall and the residents of the area used to trespass through the uneven, open space, it is popularly known as “Khadian wala school”.

Depak Kumar, Class VIII

But with the efforts of the teachers, parents and headmaster funds to the tune of Rs 5 lakh could be collected from the funds available with the district administration, the Chief Minister, the MP, and other donors, including businessmen, villagers and NRIs. Several developments have taken place since then. The school now has its boundary wall, six new well-ventilated classrooms have been constructed along with a store and science laboratory. The playground has been levelled and children play kabaddi, kho-kho and other games. While the children used to sit on mattresses earlier, new benches have been bought and these will be used after the school re-opens. The problem of water supply and electricity has also been solved as all classrooms now have tubelights with three to four fans.

Yusuf, Class VI

Ever since the school building has improved, several functions have also been held. World AIDS Day, Population Day, Independence Day, Teachers’ Day and several other contests and lectures have been held. The students have even started competing in various district and state level contests. Under the guidance of Mr Ramesh Kumar, Santosh Rani, student of Class VIII, won second prize in Children Science Congress this year. In a district science seminar held at district level, Meera, a Class II student, also won the second prize. Under the guidance of Ms Kamaljeet Kaur, guide captain, all 13 girls of the school cleared the President test camp.

Daniel Kumar, Class X

Not only the students, even the teachers of the school are finding themselves encouraged by taking part in various district-level competitions. In a district level contest held this year, Mr Devinder Gupta, science master, received second prize in extempore contest and third in teaching aids. The teachers of the school too have been taking coaching for basic and advanced guide training.

Above all, Mr Ranjit Singh, the headmaster of the school, has been selected this year for the national award to be given on September 5 in New Delhi by the President of India. He is one of the most respectable science masters of the city and his efforts in devising novel teaching aids for science subject are known to all. In view of this, the Government of India has even gifted him a hi-tech kit to develop various science models at a national level function held in year 1995 at Calcutta.

Sukhdev, Class VI

Using his kit and his God-gifted creativity, he has developed more than 100 science models that have brought him atleast 10 national awards during annual science exhibitions held in different parts of the country. His model on dyeing and drying machine finds his name in a book titled ‘innovative models for school children’ published some time back. He has been a source of inspiration for many teachers and students of the school.

Weak students get extra attention

A majority of the students coming to the school are from the weaker sections of the society and they hardly get any guidance from their parents, says the principal. The basic knowledge of the students is also much below the mark, he said. Such students that comprise at least half of the school strength are getting extra time after the school from the teachers, he added.

Mr Ranjit Singh said that nearly two-thirds of the students are from backward caste and were getting stipends from the state government. He said many of such students were so poor that they were being provided notebooks, books, shoes and winter-wears from the teachers and members of Parent-Teachers’ Association.

The principal said that a new room had been set up in the school where guidance and workshops on career awareness would be held. He said that students from Classes VI to X are given classes on personality development and giving interviews. He said that a teacher would be assigned the job of guidance so that any queries put forth by the students could be solved. Besides, he said that cuttings of news items and advertisements from the papers are compiled and put over a board so that the students could know about the kind of jobs in demand.

Mr Ranjit Singh said that like all public schools, home work diaries had been printed and teachers would write their notes to parents on this. He said that parent-teachers’ meetings would be made more frequent so that they know what their wards were doing in school. He said that he had also instructed his teachers not to resort to corporal punishment even if the child was not behaving properly.

Education standard to be improved: Johar
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, June 8
Mr Harnam Das Johar, Minister for Higher Education, said here today that the government was committed to improvement in the standard of education in the state under the new education policy. The main stress would be on infrastructure and a congenial atmosphere, he added. He was speaking at a function organised by Mittar Sabha, Field Ganj.

Mr Johar said with the induction of information technology, the world had shrunk and opportunities for education and employment had been opened for the students. He said we should enhance the standard of education to international levels.

Terming the propaganda of charging fee from SC college students as baseless, Mr Johar said education to students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes would be provided free of cost in colleges and schools. He added that the state government had decided to take back the decision of 10 per cent annual cut in the 95 per cent grant-in-aid to government-aided private colleges.

He announced a grant for Rs 1 lakh to the sabha for providing better facilities to the poor people at the janj ghar.

CULTURE

Poets touch burning issues
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, June 8
Parvaas — a kavi darbar — was organised yesterday at Punjabi Bhavan by members of the Pankti and Punjabi Sahitya Akademy. Dr Surjit Muktsar, a Punjabi critic, was the chief guest, while Dr Surjit Patar, president of the akademy, presided over the function. The aim of the programme was to provide a platform for young writers to voice their thoughts.

The programme started with a composition of Karamjit Grewal. He read a poem on the issue of burning of innocent girls for insufficient dowry. The anchor of the programme, Prof Harjit Rattan, urged people to live for others through his poem. Vishal from Punjab Agricultural University recited a few couplet in Urdu.

Dr Surjit Patar advised the young poets to live poetry before writing it. He said a poet had to be sensitive and should understand social problems, which should be the subject of their poems. Surjit Dhaliwal said poetry only appealed if it had depth. Kulwant Jagraon advised the poets to be critics of their own poetry.