EDUCATION

Move to privatise ITIs opposed
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, November 20
“Mittaran di motor te nit kach di glassi kharke,” and songs like “O dekho, O dekho sadakan te aag chali jandi hai”, are beamed at all Punjabi channels. With songs like this beaming all the time, it can be presumed that what youngsters see, will follow,” said Mr Satnam Singh of Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle.

He was addressing college students at a Naujawan Chetna rally organised by the Ludhiana Students Union at Bhagat Singh Stadium this morning.

The rally was held under the presidentship of Mr Sharanjit Singh, President of Youth wing of the Akali Dal. It was attended by students of 25 colleges in and out of Ludhiana. Most of the political and social leaders talked about the falling standards in education and moralistic field. Students discussed problems faced by them in colleges with Mr Tanvir Singh Dhaliwal, president, Ludhiana Students Union.

Mr Tanvir criticised the decision of the government for privatising of ITIs as it brings to the surface that it does not want to pursue democratic and social welfare schemes. “The present government is trying to follow the US system of education and hence is bent upon privatising education thus making it unreachable for a large majority of lower middle class students. This policy was against the fundamental rights of students. The dropout rate of students in Punjab was more than other states. The reason behind this was the fee hike. Mr Dhaliwal further said any government should first take student fraternity in confidence before increasing the fee.

Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon said the Akali Dal was student-friendly and their real friend. He said the party had always stood by the students in their troubled times. It supported the students in their protest against the fee hike. He was presented a siropa by Mr Tanveer Singh.

The in charge of Dakha constituency, Mr Darshan Singh Shivalik, Mr Manpreet Singh Mani, Mr Apinder Singh Grewal, Mr Vijay Danav, Mr Pawanjit Babbu, Mr Sukhwinder Jaura, Mr Jagjit Dakha and Mr Maninder Kang were present on the occasion.

Inter-school contests on communal harmony
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, November 20
The two-day state-level inter-school contests organised by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony, New Delhi, were inaugurated at Ramgarhia Girls’ Senior Secondary School, Millerganj, here today.

Mr Gian Singh, Director, Aided Schools, Punjab, formally inaugurated the programme. The progarmme began with the lighting of a ceremonial lamp followed by inter-school one act play competitions. The team of Government Senior Secondary School, Das Garahiana, Ropar, presented play on the theme ‘Jadon Mein Sirf Ik Aurat Hundi’. The team of Government Senior Secondary School, Gandu Kalan, Mansa, performed a play titled ‘Khulla darbar’. The host team also presented a play on the theme ‘Kangiari’. All the plays were based on the theme of communal harmony. The time limit of the play was 25 to 35 minutes

The judges of the contest were Ms Amarjit Kaur, Mr Som Pal and Dr Yog Raj. The Programme was coordinated by the executive committee of the foundation led by Ms Gurcharan Kaur Kochhar, Mr Amargiri and Mr Gulzar Mohammad. Ms Kanwaljit Kaur Kalsi, Principal of the school, and Mr Jagtar Singh, school secretary, were also present on the occasion.

The members said the story writing contest would be organised tomorrow and the topics would be announced on the spot. A rally bringing awareness on communal harmony would also be held which would begin from Nauhria Mal Jain Senior Secondary School, Bharat Nagar, and end at Nehru Sidhant Kendra. Mr Sohan Lal, DPI, would be the chief guest. 

Students air views on food systems
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, November 20
The Punjab Council of Science and Technology organised a district-level Children’s Science Congress for students from government, aided, affiliated and private schools at Sargodha Khalsa High School, Field Ganj, here today.

The theme of the congress was “Food systems- Nutrition for all”. On the occasion, the participating students presented project reports on one of the five sub-themes, which included ‘Improved food production’, ‘Nutrition, food safety and consumption’, ‘Post-harvest technology’, ‘Food storage and transportation’ and ‘Efficient management of natural resources and eco-system’.

The judges on the occasion were Ms Joginder Kaur, Headmistress, Government High School, Gobind Nagar, Mr Harchand Singh from Kirpa Nidhan Public School and Mr Ranjit Singh from Government High School, Salem Tabri.

In the junior category, Inderpreet from Sargodha Co-Educational High School stood first, followed by Surjit Singh from Sargodha Khalsa High School for Boys. In the senior group, Rupali from BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, stood first. Rishi Anand from Ramgarhia Boys Senior Secondary School, Millerganj, was second. Sukhdev Singh of Guru Nanak Khalsa High School, Gujarkhan Campus, won the third prize. The consolation prize went to Avneet Singh from Sargodha National Public Senior Secondary School. The contest was organised by Mr Varinder Sharma, District Science Supervisor.

Schoolchildren perform at classical dance fest
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, November 20
New Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, organised a classical dance competition collaboration with the State Bank of India, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana under the guidance of Ms D. Ghosh and Ms Sonia Bajaj. The function started with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp. It was followed by the dance performance on ‘Vande Matram’. The students, in their colourful dresses, presented various cultural items which included dance, speech on Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru by Aman Sehgal, Kashmiri dance, Mulayam dance, Rajasthani, Punjabi dance and dandia. The prize winning items were on ‘Mohe panghat pe Nandlal’.

All participants were given prizes and certificates of participation by the chief guest Mr L.C. Hans, Assistant General Manager, State Bank of India, Region-I, and the Deputy Director and Principal, Mr H.C. Gupta. The function ended with the singing of the National Anthem.

Students meet Waryam Singh
Our Correspondent

Doraha, November 20
A face-to-face programme with Punjabi writer Dr Waryam Singh Sandhu was organised at Guru Nanak National College, here today. Dr Sandhu shared his experiences with the students. He narrated his journey from a village boy to a renowned Punjabi writer in a subtle way. He urged the youth to move with a definite goal in life and never to be defeated by the hurdles in their way. He said,”Life is one, it depends on us how to make it in the way we wish.” His words numbed the audience.

Dr Waryam Singh was also the chief guest at the cultural occasion organised in his honour. It was a stage rehearsal for the programme to be presented by the college students at the youth festival at A.S. College for Women, Khanna, from November 23 to 25. The function was presided over by Bibi Bhagwant Kaur, president of the College management committee of GNN College.

Students interact with industrialists
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, November 20
A fashion and garment designing institute, the Pinnacle Institute of Design and Technology (PIDT), organised the first-ever interactive session between students and industrialists here today.

The interaction was held to curb the emerging problems faced by the industry and professionals — designers and merchandiser. Delegates present from the industry included Mr Suraj Bhan Jain, Chairman, Knitwear Club, Mr Prem Sagar Jain, President, Rehma, and Mr Inderpal, Assistant Director, Textile Committee.

The session began with a welcome speech, followed by the introduction of the subject for the session by Mr Sameer Aggarwal. He intimated the delegates about the achievements of the PIDT.

Simranjit wins health quiz
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, November 20
A health awareness quiz contest in association with reputed doctors and dieticians was organised by Cremica here this morning in Guru Harkrishan Public School, Ludhiana, for students of Classes V, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X. The teams were named after important food groups like fats, carbohydrates, vitamins. The winners of the quiz are: Simranjit Kaur, Amarjot, Geetika, all members of Fat team from Classes V, VI and VII, won the first prize. In the second group Harshdeep, Baljit and Avinash from Fat team again, from Classes VIII, IX and X, won the first prize. 

Students take part in quiz
Our Correspondent

Doraha, November 20
The Commerce and Economics Association of Guru Nanak National College here organised a quiz contest yesterday. Five teams, comprising three participants each, participated in the contest. There were five rounds based on national and international events, sports, commerce culture and literature.

Team-E, comprising Vikramjit Singh, Jagwinder Singh and Manharjit Singh of B.Com III year, was first. Team-D, comprising Abhay Bector, Anash Bector and Sameer Sharma of B.Com II, was second, while Team-A, comprising Somil, Deepak Sharma and Deepak Sood was third.