The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

IGNOU to develop courses in art, craft
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 21
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has taken an initiative in collaboration with the Khadi and Village industries Commission (KVIC) to develop courses in the area of art and craft. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between IGNOU and the KVIC to develop educational programmes in four crafts.

Dr Umesh Chandra Pandey, Regional Director of IGNOU for Punjab and Chandigarh, said presently a number of craftsmen and rural artisans remain deprived of the existing facilities of training and development.

The certificate in art and craft launched by IGNOU will turn out to be an excellent opportunity for rural artisans to earn a certificate in recognition of their knowledge. It will the first such course started by any university in the country, he said.

He said the certificate in craft and design (pottery) launched by the university, will give a big boost to the status of rural artisans and their art.

Dr Pandey said the IGNOU-KVIC’s joint effort in this programme aims at skill development in the area of pottery, metal work, bamboo and stone-carving in the first phase. The training centres, called Village Industries Programme Study Centres (VIPSC), of these art and craft courses throughout the country will be of special nature. The certificate in craft and design (pottery) will be launched in January.

The application form and guidelines for this programme are available free of cost and their photocopies can also be used. The forms can also be downloaded from IGNOU’s website: www.ignou.ac.in.

Quake-resistant design course begins
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 21
A two-week course on ‘Structural and geotechnical aspects of earthquake resistant design’ got under way at the Department of Civil Engineering, Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, here today.

The event has been sponsored by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE), New Delhi. The course was inaugurated by Prof (Dr) M P. Kapoor, former Director, TIET, Patiala. Mr Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, a former minister and additional secretary, Nankana Sahib Educational Trust, released the study material to be presented during the course.

According to coordinators, Dr Jagdanand Jha and Dr Hardeep Singh Rai, the course would be covered by eminent engineers like Dr D.K. Paul, Dr S.K. Kaushik and Dr Manish Shrikhande from IIT, Roorkee.

A special presentation would also be given by Dr A.S. Arya, Adviser, Disaster Mitigation Division, New Delhi and Mrs Mrinal Mathur from United National Development Programme (UNDP). Earthquake experts from Punjab, like Dr Satish Kumar, Dr S.P. Singh. and Dr I.C. Syal were also expected to give presentation.

Participants from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand, UP, Haryana, Himachal, Madhya Pradesh are attending the course.

Dr Harpal Singh, Head of Department, welcomed the gathering while the chief guest, Dr M.P. Kapoor, presented the key note address. A vote of thanks was presented by Dr H.S. Rai. The course will continue upto December 31, Dr Jha added.

Sahilpreet wins Punjabi declamation contest
Our Correspondent

Samrala, December 21
A Punjabi declamation contests of CBSE schools of Ludhiana district was held in Sant Kirpal Singh Sewa Panthi Public School, Neelon, 10 km from here, on Monday. The topics were 'Manukhata da sanjha granth shree Guru Granth Sahib’, Vidayarthyan vich bechani", 'Parivartan kudrat da niyam hai', 'Ik sau chhabis karor bhartiya, ik hi tamga, oh ve Chandi da, kyon? and Sahitya samaj da darpan hai," said Ms Bakhshi, director of the school.

Sahilpreet Kaur of Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana was first. Chamanpreet Jar of Guru Nanak International Senior Secondary Public School, Model Town, Ludhiana, was second while Varid Arora of Sacred Heart Convent Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana was third. Overall trophy was won by the Green Land Senior Secondary Public School, Ludhiana.

The judges for the competition were Mr Tara Singh Anjan, (retd.) Deputy Director, Punjabi Department, SCERT Delhi, Mr N.R. Goyal, Member Punjabi, Academy, Delhi and Ms Satwant Kaur, Head of Punjabi Department, Malwa Central College of Education, Ludhiana.

From Schools and Colleges
Prabhjot 5th on PTU merit list
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, December 21
The PTU has released the merit list of BCA-VI semester (regular) May, 2004, exams today. Prabhjot Kaur has secured 3,657 out of 4,200 marks and got the 5th position in the university.

Amarpal Kaur secured 3,614 marks and got the 8th position. Mr Sukhpal Singh, Chairman and Dr R.S. Gupta, Director, Doraha Institute of Management and Technology, congratulated the students, teachers and parents for getting merit positions.

Nite at GNIPS: Guru Nanak International Public School hold a cultural nite here last evening. Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha, was the chief guest. Mr Gurbir Singh Sarna, general secretary, Mr Harbhajan Singh, Manager, and Mrs P.K. Kahlon, Director, were also present. The programme commenced with “shabad” recitation which was followed by the welcome address by the Principal, Ms B. Gulati.

A cultural programme comprised orchestra, dance, folk songs, western group song, ghazal and plays was organised. Puneet Kuar, mesmerised the audience with her spell-bound performance. Junior students presented “Pooja” dance. Haryanvi and Dogri dances kept the audience spell-bound. An English play depicted that self-confidence and hard work reaps success in one’s life whereas a Hindi play “Aandkar se prakash ki aur” and Punjabi play “Chaska videsha da” were staged by the students of the school in colourful attires.

The general secretary, Mr Gurbir Singh Sarna, thanked the chief guest.

X-mas at St Xavier: Christmas was celebrated in St Xavier School today with gaiety. The whole school was decorated. Children came to the school in colourful dresses and many of them were dressed as Santa Clause and fairies. Fun games like musical chair, colour recognition game and one-minute show were organised for children. The students danced to the tune of Christmas songs.

Uniforms distributed: Ms Gurdev Kaur Sekhon, chairperson, Guru Gobind Singh Charitable Trust, distributed uniforms to 108 students of Government High School, Salem Tabri. Mr Ranjit Singh, Principal of the school, thanked Ms Sekhon and Ms Manjit Sodhia for their services to humanity and needy students.

Toppers: Two students of Institute of Management Studies, Ms Kanwaljit Kaur and Ms Sandeep Kaur Bajwa, secured as 1st and 7th positions in BCA II semester. The list was displayed today by the Controller of Examinations, Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar.

Seminar: The Management Development Centre of Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology, Gujarkhan Campus, held a one-day workshop on “Use of Internet as a tool for business development and export marketing” here yesterday. Delegates came from Gurdaspur, Faridkot, Jalandhar, Sangrur and local industrial houses. Some budding entrepreneurs and those already in export business also attended the workshop.

Tiny tots of Kiddies Paradise celebrate Christmas in Ludhiana on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

X-mas celebrations: Christmas celebrations started at Kiddies Paradise, Kochar Market, with great joy, enthusiasm, devotional fervour, and gaiety. Tiny tots dresses as Santa Clause, Mother Mary, Jesus, father, stole the show.

The celebrations started with Christmas cards and tiny tots with folded hands wished for universal peace and harmony.

They also danced to the tunes of Jingle Bell Jingle Bells, whispering to each other — Santa Clause! Santa Clause! Come! Come! and then the Santa Clause distributed sweets and gifts to little ones. A film on Jesus Christ was also shown.

The Director of the school, Mr Randhir Singh, wished happy Christmas and New Year.