EDUCATION

Govt urged to release grants to colleges
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, March 30
Mr S C Sanwalka, President and Prof Gurbir Singh Sama, General Secretary of the Non-Government College management Federation of Punjab and Chandigarh in a rejoinder to the recent statement of Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for higher education regarding stopping of the 95 per cent grants to the private aided colleges in a phased manner have stated that 95 per cent grant-in-aid scheme was introduced by the Punjab Government in 1978

The aid was given not to get going the higher education in the initial years rather being unable to provide the democratic rights of higher education to all the sectors of society ( both in rural and urban areas) on its own, government started helping the private colleges through grant scheme for improving the standards of higher education as well as to spread the same in all far and near areas in the state. As such, there is no justification on the part of the government to withdraw grant on the basis of generation of sources by the private managements. Rather, the fact is that most of the managements are to run many other courses for funding of the deficit facing institutes. Further, the Minister was requested to release the arrears of pending grants of the colleges for the last 6-7 years which runs into crores of rupees. This will certainly enable the private managements to improve the standards of higher education in future. The government should stand by its commitment and continue the 95 per cent grants for maintaining the quality of higher education and release the pending grants in time.

GNIMT Director given farewell
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, March 30
Dr A.S. Bansal, Director, GNIMT, will relinquish his charge tomorrow. He was given a warm send-off by the management, faculty and students of the institute. Dr Bansal joined the GNIMT on September 1, 2000, after his superannuation from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering, PAU.

Ms Sandhya Mehta presented the farewell address on behalf of the faculty. She said Dr Bansal had a knack for getting the best out of everybody and keeping his team highly motivated.

Dr H.S. Singha, head of the Management Department, GNIMT, highlighted the major milestones achieved by Dr Bansal during his tenure at the GNIMT.

Dr Bansal thanked the management for its support, which enabled him to handle his responsibilities effectively. Dr Bansal acknowledged the cooperation extended by the faculty.

School function held
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, March 30
Gagan Public Secondary School, Tajpur Road, organised an annual prize distribution function here today. The students presented a very colourful cultural programme. Ruludu and Ghasita, a humorous skit presented by the students took a swipe at the ills prevailing in the society and was well liked by the audience.

The students securing first three ranks from each class received prises from the chief guest Deputy Mayor, Ms Sushila Gupta and congratulated the staff and students for putting up a good show.

Present on the occasion were Mr Gurcharan Singh . Mr Pawan Sharma, Mr Ramesh Naunihal, Mr Manoj Kumar and they, too, lauded the efforts of the students.

Scholars dwell on humanism in literature
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, March 30
A two-day UGC-sponsored national seminar on “Humanistic concerns in Indian English fiction” at Gujranwala Guru Nanak Khalsa College started on an impressive note as a galaxy of scholars hailing from prestigious universities and colleges from all over India graced the occasion. Prof K.B. Razdan from the University of Jammu delivered the inaugural address.

Professor Razdan dwelled on the origin of humanism and its application down the ages, specially in various genres of literature.

Earlier, Dr T.S. Anand, Head of the Postgraduate Department of English and director of the seminar, introduced the theme of the seminar and hoped that the participants would debate on various nuances of humanism in literature.

Principal Gurdip Singh welcomed the delegates. The highlight of the inaugural function was the keynote address by Dr Nibir K. Ghosh from Agra who recently returned from the USA as a ‘Senior Fullbright scholar’. Fifteen research papers were presented in the pre-lunch and post-lunch sessions. Notable among those who made their presentations were Prof Avtar Singh, Dr Seema Malik (Udaipur), Dr Somdatta Mandal (Shantiniketan), Dr Roopinder Kaur, Dr Rabinder Powar (Patiala), Dr Subhash Chandra (New Delhi), Dr Apoorva Chawla (Ambala), Dr R.K. Dhwan (Delhi) and Dr Prabha Pant (Garhwal).

“Literary Voice”, the maiden venture of the PG Department of English, was released by Dr Razdan. Dr Ghosh was presented a book of verses by Prof N.S. Tasneem. The souvenir for the seminar was released by Prof Sohinderjit Singh, senior vice-president, Khalsa Educational Council. He said the seminar was a veritable national seminar as it had brought scholars from all over India and expressed the hope that such intellectual conclaves of researchers and scholars would be held periodically. 

Bar wants court restored
Our Correspondent

Jagraon, March 30
The local bar association has resolved unanimously that the judicial court, which has withdrawal after the transfer of Mr B.S. Deol, Civil Judge, Jagraon, be restored immediately.

It has decided to send a representation to the District Judge, Ludhiana, and the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana Court in the regard. The withdrawal of the court has put additional burden on the court of the Additional Civil Judge, Senior Division, Jagraon.

HEALTH

Does your doctor get it right?
Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 30
The qualification and reputation of your doctor does not necessarily guarantee that he diagnoses the disease right. In a number of cases, reputed doctors have got it wrong. Senior doctors say it may be oversight at times or overconfidence.

In a recent case, a patient who trusted the reputation and the super-specialised qualification of a physician found his situation deteriorating. When he went for a cross-opinion, he was recommended a simple test as he had a mild infection, which was getting ignored. The doctor had not been able to diagnose it properly. In the process, the patient was made to go for a number of medical examinations, which cost him a few thousand rupees.

Such incidents are common. Experts attribute it to overload of work on doctors.

A leading medical expert, refusing to be quoted, said “A patient reposes faith in the doctor. More so when the doctor holds super-specialised degrees. The patient can never think of a wrong judgement on the part of the doctor. In the process, his situation deteriorates.

The expert said doctors should exercise restraint. They must ensure that they check only a limited number of patients lest they get exhausted. Moreover, there must be fixed hours with sufficient provision for relaxation. More reputed the doctor, more overworked he is. So it must be mandatory that he or she sufficient rest as that is in the interests of the patients.

Experts admit that the number of “judgements of error” on the part of doctors is growing. More reputed the doctor, more are the chances of such mistakes. An expert said some doctors take things casually in overconfidence, which should be avoided.