The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Strong opposition to vet university
Tribune Reporters

Ludhiana, June 29
There is considerable resentment in the Punjab Agricultural University campus over the reported move of the government to bifurcate the university and set up a separate Punjab Veterinary and animal husbandry University. The setting up of the veterinary university in the name of Guru Angad Dev was announced by the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh on his (Guru’s) 500th birth anniversary on April 18 last. The PAU Teachers Association is learnt to have decided to move the court against the proposal.

While the veterinary experts are questioning the logic of establishing a separate veterinary university on the technical and practical grounds, the finance department of the state, which will be the funding agency, has been questioning its financial viabilty. There is no source which can sustain the recurring expenses of the university, which are estimated to be Rs 40 crore every year, besides Rs 100 crore in the beginning.

The Finance Department of the state has observed, “the justification for setting up a university for veterinary and animal sciences is vague and nebulous-the report is very superficial in nature and does not indicate how the proposed university is going to be self sustaining in its recurring expenditure. There appears to be a mismatch between the objectives of the university and proposed infrastructure and budget”.

Two leading veterinarians, Dr SS Khera and Dr BS Gill have questioned the very idea of having a veterinary university. They asked, “what is needed in a small state like Punjab...the authors of the proposal seem to have concealed the facts and are misleading the state on the question of funds”. They disclosed that it will not be less than a Rs 400 crore project. Interestingly the government had allocated Rs 1.5 crore for setting up of the university, while the College of Veterinary Sciences in the PAU has an annual budget of over Rs 13 crore.

The senior veterinarians observed that instead the government should explore the ways to absorb about 300 veterinary graduates and postgraduates. During the last five years there has not been any recruitment in the Animal Husbandry Department which is leading to the swelling number of the unemployed veterinarians.

The experts have instead supported the idea of setting up a dairy research institute in the PAU campus only for which the university has submitted a proposal to the Punjab government and sought a grant of Rs 10 crore for the same. They pointed out, the government should learn from the experiences of the Baba Farid University for Medical Sciences and the Punjab Technical University, which do not even have the buildings of their own.

1,984 appear for PAU test
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 29
Punjab Agricultural University conducted a Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to B.V.Sc. and A.H and B.Sc. (Agri) (Hons) programmes. Out of 2,166 applicants, 1,984 candidates appeared for the test for 42 seats in B.V. Sc and A.H. and 85 seats in B.Sc. Agri (Hons) programmes. When compared to last year, 164 more candidates appeared for the test this year. The Vice-Chancellor, Dr Kirpal Singh Aulakh, took the round of the centre and also interacted with the parents of the candidates.

Dr S.S. Chahal, Controller of Examinations, said as many as 190 faculty members and 35 members of supporting staff were involved in conducting the test. The result of the CET will be declared on July 2 and will be displayed on the notice board of Thapar Hall.

The result can also be seen on the PAU website — www.pau.edu — and will also be despatched individually to the candidates by post. The counselling of candidates for reserve categories will be held on July 13 and for general category on July 14 in the Pal Auditorium of the university.

IMS students excel in BCA exam
Our Correspondent

Charanjit Singh, Sunita Verma, Vikramjit Singh, Harjot Kaur and Gurinder Singh, students of the Gujranwala Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GGNIMT), who have excelled in the MCA examinations conducted by Punjab Technical University.

Shilpa Singhania, Pradeep Kumar and Munish Dhawan, students of the Punjab College of Technical Education (PCTE), Ludhiana, who secured first three positions in the MBA first semester examination held in December, 2003.

Ludhiana, June 29
Students of the Institute of Management Studies (IMS), Guru Nanak Girls College Campus, Model Town, have once again exhibited their supremacy in attaining meritorious positions in the BCA (final semester) examination.

All students of the institute have secured more than 74 per cent marks in the examination held in May, 2004. Sujata Sachdev stood first securing 90.1 per cent marks, while Shavani Nayar and Namrita Kaur Gill secured second and third positions with 90 per cent and 89.85 per cent marks, respectively.

Pinnacle Institute: The Pinnacle Institute of Design Technology (PIDT) launched a new course in knitwear and fashion designing and merchandising and quality control approach for the first time in the state in collaboration with the Knitwear Club.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Vinod Thapar, president of the club, and Mr Sameer Agarwal, director of the PIDT, said trained students of the institute would fulfill the need of skilled designers for the local hosiery industry to enable it meet the WTO challenges, both in domestic and exports markets.

Claiming that the institute had 80 per cent placement record for diploma students, Mr Agarwal explained at length the close collaboration being maintained by the PIDT with apparel organisations and the garments industry. He said the placement record of PIDT students was a proof that need of the knitwear designers and interior decorators, which was earlier being fulfilled by Chandigarh or Delhi-based institutes, was now being met by the city-based professional college.

MBA results: Students of the Punjab College of Technical Education have bagged first eight positions, except the fifth position, in the MBA first semester examination held in December, 2003.

Shilpa Singhania, Pradeep Kumar and Munish Dhawan have bagged the first, second and the third positions securing 90.8, 90.37 and 90 per cent marks, respectively. Pallavi Verma, Aman Sethi, Monika Bansal and Gagandeep Kaur of the college were placed fourth, sixth, seventh and the eighth position, respectively.

Dr K.N.S. Kang, director of the college, said the college had bagged 34 first positions in the university in different semester examinations of MBA, MCA, BBA and BCA since its inception in August, 1999.

MCA results: Students of the Gujranwala Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GGNIMT) have excelled in MCA examinations conducted by Punjab Technical University.

Charanjit Singh of MCA (first semester) secured the third position by getting 87.4 per cent marks, Sunita Verma of the fifth semester got the third position by securing 88.1 per cent marks, Vikramjit Singh got the seventh position by securing 87 per cent marks, Harjot Kaur got the eight position by securing 86.8 per cent marks and Gurinder Singh secured the 10th position by securing 86 per cent marks.

The director of the GGNIMT, Mr Kuldip Singh, and the coordinator, Prof Gunwant Singh Dua, have congratulated the students and teachers for their brilliant performance.

Management institute: The Lovely Institute Management (LIM), Phagwara, organised a counselling session for students at its local information centre, near Bharat Nagar Chowk, here on Tuesday.

The session aimed at advising students, especially those joining professional and job-oriented courses, on the selection of a course and the right kind of college.

About 80 students, in small batches, participated in the session to seek guidance regarding MBA, MCA, BEd., law and pharmacy courses.

Mr Harpreet Singh, faculty member of the LIM, and Mr Rajeev Prashar, author of ‘India in News’, apprised the students of various factors significant in selecting a course or an institution. The students were advised to verify the affiliation, check the composition of faculty, its approach, infrastructure and work culture in the college.

DAV College: Lajpat Rai DAV College, Jagraon, has secured 92 per cent result in the BA II examination held in April, 2004. Eight students got 73 per cent marks or above, with the topper Harjinder Kaur getting 78 per cent marks.

In all, 55 students got first division. Principal K.G. Bansal has lauded the performance of the staff and the students.

Bharatiya Vidya Mandir: Bharatiya Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, has achieved 100 per cent result in the Class X examination of the Punjab School Education Board.

Out of a total 166 students, three were placed in the merit list, whereas 165 secured the first division. As many as 93 students secured over 90 per cent marks, 58 got between 80 and 89 per cent and another 74 students scored between 70 and 79 per cent.