The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDUCATION

SCHOOL BUZZ
Principals reaching out to educators in other Asian countries
Smriti Kak

A delegation of 17 principals under the aegis of the International Progressive Schools Educational and Adventure Forum visited Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka on an invitation extended by the Ministry of Education and Tourism Board of the countries concerned.

Children participating in a swimming competition organised by Brooklyn School.

The fortnight long trip was led by the president of the IPSEA, DR A. V. Bhalla, principal, DAV Public School, Faridabad. The trip was organised with the aim to facilitate an exchange programme with the educators in these countries.

The delegation visited schools and discussed feasibility of exchange programmes for students and teachers.

The honorary secretary of the IPSEA, Mr S. S. Minhas, said that they were also hopeful of starting an IPSEA forum in these countries, which will in turn strengthen the relations between the nations.

He added that such exchanges would also help to uphold the motto of ‘Tourism to Eliminate Terrorism’. Principals from various schools in the NCR were among those who were part of the delegation.

Best Out of Waste competition

An art and craft competition was held for the students of Class III to VIII on the occasion of the Foundation Day of Bal Bhavan, Swasthya Vihar.

The competition titled ‘Best Out of Waste’ encouraged the students to make creative use of waste products.

The pieces that received the top slot included a wind chime made by Varun and Ajay of Class VIII and a photo frame made by Deepti of Class VII.

Among the other items made from the waste products included wall hangings, tablemats and boats. A sports competition was also organised on the occasion for the students of the junior school.

Road safety awareness campaign

A road safety awareness campaign sponsored by the Transport Department, Government of NCT, was organised by the Namrata Education Trust.

Camps were organised in various schools in the Capital, besides using street plays to drive home the message of road safety.

An exhibition was also organised with the help of the Delhi Police to inculcate a sense of discipline and road sense among the students.

State-of-the-art auditorium at DPS

The Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr Digvijay Singh, inaugurated the state- of-the-art auditorium at DPS International, Saket. The auditorium constructed with international standards has a seating capacity of 1000 people.

Shooting star, Jaspal Rana, inaugurated the Jaspal Rana Shooting Range in the school premises. A chic café ‘Tuck In’ was inaugurated by Ravi Jaipuria.

Former Indian hockey captain, Zafar Iqbal, spent time with the students and gave them useful tips about the game.

A cultural programme was presented by the students on the occasion apart from the high-voltage performance by singer Shibani Kashyap.

Career guidance

The British Council and Penguin India are launching the book, ‘Essential Guide to Careers in India’ by Usha Albuquerque at a seminar on career guidance on July 17.

The seminar is open to school principals and career counsellors and will address the need for career planning, aptitude assessment and the role of teachers in career shaping. The book will come as big boon to students and parents on the lookout for information about the various career options in the country.

A creative drama workshop will also be organised by Vinita Krishnan and Sangeeta Gupta on July 19 and July 26 at the British Council.

The workshop aims at developing creativity, problem solving abilities, creating moods, movements, events, exploring media for expression and developing linguistic and artistic expression through drama.

Self-introduction and individual expressions, rapport building and simple improvisations apart from exploring dramatic potential of the surroundings and expression through drama and other art forms will be part of the workshop.

PRINCIPAL SPEAK
Making others smile through service

True happiness lies in putting a smile on another’s face. When you help another without an ulterior motive, it is the divinity in you that comes to fore. ‘Service before self’ is a beautiful motto and it truly serves to enrich our lives.

Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. Martin Luther King had said – “You don’t have to have a college degree to serve… you don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle… you don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve, you only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.”

A few days back, when I was on my way to school, I saw that a scooter rider had met with an accident and was lying on the road. It was a busy hour and people rushed by with a cursory glance. Perhaps, he was still alive and a little help could have brought him back from the jaws of impending death. People feared being implicated in a police case and saved their skin by keeping away.

Urged by my conscience, I put him in the car and drove him to the hospital. This was a spontaneous gesture and needed no self-congratulations. I had done my bit and moved on. I felt satisfied for having done a good deed.

We should be grateful to God for being in a position where we can help others. Community service is a very fulfilling and enriching experience. Be it teaching children from the deprived sections, visiting an orphanage to make them feel they are not alone or spending quality time with the aged and neglected people, each of these gestures enhances our self-esteem.

In helping others, we help ourselves too. ‘Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth’, and sure enough “you can get everything you want in life if you help others to get what they want.”

These gestures do not have to be for a great cause always. Even little gestures like giving a flower to someone who is unhappy makes the person feel wanted.

Helping the blind or the aged to cross a busy road, picking up a crying child and reassuring him or even providing medical help to a stray suffering animal are all wonderful gestures. When your heart dictates, you must respond. After all, there is no hell like a bad conscience.

So reach out to others even if people try to discourage you. These acts epitomise compassion, love, patience and above all, humanity. Remember, God could not be everywhere, so he created you. These beautiful lines say it all–“A touch is all you need; A touch which can alter the fixed front of fate, not just theirs but yours as well”.

Mrs. Madhu Chandra
Principal, Birla Vidya Niketan

COURTS

HC dismisses minister’s plea on electricity charges
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 13
The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition filed by former Cabinet minister and Congress MP Ghani Khan Chaudhary seeking to quash a demand letter of more than Rs 22 lakh towards payment of outstanding electricity and water charges in respect of his official residence in the national Capital.

Mr Justice Manmohan Sarin turned down Mr Khan’s petition saying that allegations of something mala fide had been found to be without any basis.

‘’Nothing has been produced on record by the petitioner to show that the disconnection of electric supply (due to non-payment of bills) was on account of extraneous factors or at the behest or signal of political vested interests inimical to the petitioner,’’ the judge said.

Apart from the fact that nothing was produced to substantiate the allegations, the mere fact of repeated restoration of electric supply on payments of small ad hoc amounts would belie the allegation of political vendetta, he added.

The petitioner has neither invoked his remedies under the Indian Electricity Act nor in the civil forum, Mr Justice Sarin said, adding that the petition raised contentious questions and complex facts which were beyond the ambit of a writ petition.

The veteran leader from Malda had disputed and not accepted the meter readings and the billing thereof. The judge also vacated interim orders restraining the authorities from recovering the amount of arrears, about Rs 20 lakh of which he owed to the Electricity Department.