EDUCATION

School organises seminar on AIDS
Our Correspondent

Amloh, January 29
A seminar and a chart-making competition was organised to create awareness about AIDS among students at Government Secondary School, Naraingarh, 5 km form here, today.

Dr Mahesh Jindal, Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, Amloh, was the chief guest. The function was presided over by Mr Satish Kumar, Child Development and Project Officer.

Mr Harpal Singh was the stage secretary. Principal Roshan Lal Sood said students of the school should donate blood at camps. It provides double benefit, first their blood is checked at the camp and secondly the blood is used for a noble cause.

Mr Satish Kumar said AIDS was more harmful than war. He said such seminars should be organised in the villages.

Dr Mahesh Jindal answered the queries of the students and staff members.

As many as 14 students took part in the chart-making competition. Harbinder Kaur of Class XI stood first; Neha Rani of Class X stood second; and Mohan Singh of Class XII stood third in the competition.

Poonamjit Kaur and Rajinder Kaur got first and second prize, respectively, in the speech competition. 

Camp to identify disabled children
Government to provide learning aids
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 29
Deputy Commissioner Anurag Verma today inspected the assessment camp for identification of disabled among children between 3-14 years at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Bharat Nagar Chowk. The camp was organised by the Education Department in collaboration with ALIMCO. The identified disabled children will be given assistive devices free of cost.

The DC said under the Sarav Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the policy of zero rejection has been adopted so that no child is left out of the education system and that every child receives quality education up to elementary level. To achieve this aim, the SSA will provide assistive devices and learning aids and appliances to all children with special needs, so that they may become self-reliant and receive relevant elementary education in an appropriate environment.

Mr Verma further said that to implement this policy, a tie up with ALIMCO has been made to provide learning aids and assistive devices to all children with special needs after subsidising the cost of such appliances by 60 per cent. Under the Sarav Shiksha Abhiyan, there is an annual budget of Rs 1,200 per child with special needs and 40 per cent of the cost of appliances will be given out of this annual budget.

He added that assessment camps were being held at the tehsil level. Two camps have already been held, one at Jagraon on January 27 and another at Khanna yesterday. In the camp at Jagraon, 210 children were examined and 138 children were examined at Khanna.

In the camp held today, 186 children were examined. The camp for Ludhiana East will be held at Government Senior Secondary School, Jandiali, on January 31, at Payal at Government Senior Secondary School on February 1, at Raikot at Government Senior Secondary School on February 2 and at Samrala at Government Senior Secondary School on February 3.

The representatives of ALIMCO will take necessary measurements and other details for manufacturing artificial limbs, wherever required. They will also provide other aids and appliances under the cost-sharing agreement. He said each camp will have a team of doctors specialised in the field of ophthalmology, orthopaedics, ENT and psychology.

Mr Verma added that once the camps are held, ALIMCO will provide the requisite aids and appliances within a period of four to six weeks and hold distribution camps, again at the tehsil level, for distributing the assistive devices to individual children/their parents and training them in their care and use.

He appealed to the parents to come forward and to take maximum advantage of this scheme.

Maths teachers attend workshop
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 29
An educational workshop on “Effective Teaching Through Maths Lab” was conducted in the conference hall of the BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, here today for mathematics teachers of Class III to Class VIII.

Around 45 teachers from Ludhiana and Jalandhar attended the workshop wherein various kits for mathematics lab were displayed.

The basic aim of conducting the workshop was to enable the teachers to guide their students to get rid of maths’ phobia and appreciate maths.

Addressing the gathering, the Principal, Mrs Paramjit Kaur, remarked that study of mathematics imparts knowledge, while experimentation makes the concepts clear.

An interactive session was also held wherein teachers’ queries and problems were discussed. The workshop was made more informative by use of Multimedia Projector and a slide show.

It was both informative and enjoyable experience for the teachers. “Setting up maths labs in schools will enable children to develop their individuality through free activities” said the Principal.

Changing scenario in capital market discussed
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 29
A seminar on “Changing scenario in capital market” was organised today by the Postgraduate Department of Commerce and Business Management, Kamla Lohtia SD College, Ludhiana. The seminar was presided over by Mr Dharmpal Jain, a business magnate. Dr Prem Kumar, Principal, Sri Aurbindo College of Commerce and Management, and Dr Vijay Asdhir, head of the Department of Commerce, SCD Govt College for Boys, were the guests of honour.

Delegates from different parts of the country, members of the Senate and Syndicate of Panjab University, Chandigarh, were also present on the occasion.

The objective of the seminar was to explore the major issues involved in the financial sector reforms taking place in the country. Seminar was divided in two technical sessions. Dr Vijay Asdhir was the key speaker in the first session. Dr R.K. Gupta, Professor, Panjab University, Chandigarh, delivered a lecture on “Changing overview of capital market with special reference to book building and depositories.” Dr Balwinder Singh, Reader, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, expressed his views on “Private placement of securities in Indian context”. In the 2nd technical session, Dr H.S. Sidhu, executive, Ludhiana Stock Exchange, spoke on “Overview of security markets with special reference to latest reforms.”

PAU department gets grant
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 29
The Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, has sanctioned a grant of Rs 16 lakh under its FIST Programme to the Department of Botany, Punjab Agricultural University, for strengthening its teaching and research facilities. Dr Neelam Setia, Head of Department, said the grant had been sanctioned for five years and would be utilised for upgrading laboratory facilities.

BCM School celebrates annual day
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 29
BCM School, Dugri, has celebrated its annual day with great enthusiasm. Kids form the junior section were at their creative best. Variety of items were presented. Various dances depicted the unity in diversity of India. Not only bhangra but also a Rajasathani dance, in which girls dressed up in green dresses, bewitched the audience. A mesmerising western dance was also part of the programme.

HEALTH

Students donate blood for thalassaemic kids
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 29
More than 50 students and members of the staff donated blood at a blood donation camp organised at Lajpat Rai DAV College, Jagraon, by a team of doctors and technicians from the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) yesterday. The collected blood would be used for the welfare of thalassaemic children, registered with the hospital under treatment of Dr Parveen Sobti.

The Principal of the college Dr Satish K. Sharma, inaugurated the camp which was supervised by Dr Amarjit Kaur, Associate Professor and head of the Department of Transfusion Medicine, DMCH.

Focusing on the need for more voluntary blood donations, Dr Hitesh Narang, Assistant Professor in transfusion medicine, remarked that patients afflicted with thalassaemia, cancer and renal failure required frequent blood transfusions. It was primarily through the generosity of voluntary blood donors that the need of safe blood for these patients was met.

Referring to the thalassaemic children, he said due to a genetic defect in the homoeglobin, they invariably required blood transfusions almost every month. The DMCH was taking special care to ensure safe blood for all such patients and the blood was thoroughly screened against HIV, Hepatitis B and C, VDRL and other transmissible diseases.