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Free education scheme will benefit 75,000 students
Chandigarh, August 16 Free education to students up to Class VIII, as announced by UT Administrator, Lt-Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd), at the Independence Day function yesterday, would directly benefit over 75,000 students studying in government schools of the city. And, for this, the UT Administration is willing to give up its “collection” of Rs 1.20 crore taken by way of various funds. Further, they will invest Rs 30 lakh in providing books to students of non-model schools and another Rs 80 lakh by giving away free uniforms to them. From now on, the Education Department will completely waive off annual fee of Rs 120 being charged from the boys upto Class VIII. No fee is charged from girl students in government schools. Also, for the model and non-model schools category, the UT Administration has given its nod to doing away with funds charged from students from December onwards. Each student, boy or girl, was being charged Rs 250 per year in the model schools while students of non-model schools were paying Rs 50 per year. The Education Department felt that, these funds, too, were a deterrent to parents wanting to send children to school and decided to phase these out. While this is applicable to both model and non-model schools, another of the Administration’s incentive to non-model schools is the decision to provide free books and uniforms. The idea is to wipe out class divisions in school and shoulder the burden of parents who can’t afford to send three or four children to school. “We stand to lose out on the funds from the students for which we will be compensated by the government. The gain to society will be far more than the financial expenses we will have to bear. We just adopted the Fundamental Right to Education laid down in the Constitution,” the DPI (Schools), Mr D.S. Mangat, said. The girls were already getting books under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in government schools while the “free uniform advantage” was only available to the boys coming from the Schedule Caste category. However, with this announcement, as many as 40,000 students in the non-model schools will stand to gain. Meanwhile, the announcements of fee and fund waiver enthused families in the under-privileged sections, particularly those in city slums. Ram Vilas, residing in the Sector 25 Kumhar Colony, with five children says, “I could not afford to send all my children to school. The elder three would earn doing odd jobs while the youngest two were attending the government school nearby. Though I wanted all my children to be educated, I didn’t have the means. This will at least serve as an incentive to pack them off to school”. His neighbour, Pyare Lal, a potter, with two children, wasn’t keen that his daughter should attend school. “My son was going to school and that was all the money I could manage. Though no fee is charged from girl students, I was supposed to pay the annual funds which I couldn’t since providing food for my family is priority over education. If this waiver is true, I will gladly send my daughter to school,” he maintained.
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5021 students pass supplementary exam
Chandigarh, August 16 All schools located in Chandigarh are requested to collect their result and marks sheet from the Regional Office, CBSE, Sector 32. Marks sheets and results of all candidates located outside Chandigarh are being dispatched by speed post. Marks sheets of private candidates are also being dispatched to the candidates. Independence week concludes: A series of programmes and competitions were conducted throughout the week at Rai School, Sector 48, here. The theme was the freedom struggle and independence. Recitation competitions, patriotic songs competitions, fancy dress competitions etc. were the main items of the week. The mega event concluded after Independence Day on August 16 with a play “Big J” staged by the senior students of Rai School. The play was on the life of emperor Julius Caesar, who fell a prey to the unending greed and lust for power and ultimately killed by his own friends. Thus, Adway Dogra, at the end of the play, concluded, “Even the mightiest of all have to face defeat and a tragic death”. He urged all present to give up the lust of power and respect the norms of democracy and freedom.
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KPS, Shivalik students bag prize
Mohali, August 16 The chairman, Mr D.S. Bedi, unfurled the National Flag during the function organised by students of Shivalik Public School. He also took the ceremonial salute at an impressive march past by students. Students of the school jointly bagged the first prize for the Rajasthani dance with students of KPS School village, Ballomajra, who bagged the prize for performance on “maa tujhe salaam” during the Independence Day function organised by the Administration. Students of Shiraj International School, Landran, celebrated Independence Day with patriotic fervour and enthusiasm. Dr Jasmer Singh Kambala, chief guest, unfurled the National Flag and appreciated the efforts put in by school Principal Sunita Aggarwal in bringing out the latent talent in the village children. The school students also presented a cultural show. Employees of Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, Mohali, celebrated Independence Day with senior citizens of the area. The National Flag was hoisted by Mr Shamsher Singh, an 89-year-old resident of Phase 3B2. Dr Naresh Kumar, vice-president spoke on the occasion.
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Students protest against ATR on ’84 riots
Chandigarh, August 16 “The Union Government should have ensured jobs to the victims of riots and should also have cared to dispense justice,” the 70 odd protesters demanded as they shouted slogans against the government’s Action Taken Report (ATR). Another demand raised during the rally was launch of criminal proceedings against those held responsible by the Nanavati Commission. The protesters repeatedly shouted names of Jagdish Tytler, HKL Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar, urging the Union Government to take immediate action against them.
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Evaluation not faulty: varsity
Chandigarh, August 16
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‘Dhoom’ around tiny wrists
Bikers on red and silver mean machines with flashing front lights are here — straight out of Bollywood blockbuster “Dhoom” — ready to ride around the tiny wrists of little guys.
If you still haven’t seen the rakhi which has found its way into the hearts of so many eager sisters, just drive down to any gift, chunk jewellery or card shop in the city. You will find them parked on sparkling glass shelves dazzling under the synthetic daylight. Pick up the bikes with firm hands and the sirens will go on, along with blinking front lights. Once you see them, you will forget the traditional threads — at least this is what the little girls coming out of the shops after making purchases tell you, enthusiastically. Otherwise too, plain simple threads, even the ones with tiny flowers are out of vogue if your brother is, say less than 10. No doubt about it. “Rakhis with toys and cartoon characters are the ones to buy for the little ones”, affirms Ms Raman, running a junk jewellery shop in Sector 11. Just in case macho bikes do not make blood rush through your veins, look for “something soft” like the “Oye Bubby” rakhi set. The sumptuous-looking plastic hamburger, placed next to a cold drink can, secured together with a thread, lights up when pressed. Or else you can take home the cell phone rakhi. It is ideal. As your brother’s tiny fingers press the backlit keys of the set secured to the rakhi thread, the screen lights up. Ring tones follow. Another set offers nice soft numbers from Bollywood flicks. Just lift the flap and listen. If you are a believer in the science of feng shui, you can pick up rakhis with laughing Buddha, even ones with brass coins secured with red ribbon. Put them in the purse after the occasion and you will never be short of cash”. For youngsters interested in cartoon characters, there is your friendly neighbour “Spiderman”, besides a set of two “smileys” embedded in a thread to cheer you up. “Winnie the Pooh” on skates is another favourite, along with dancing Mickey Mouse. Interestingly, Santa with his flowing beard is also there though Christmas is still far away. Giving reasons for increasing popularity of the characters, Ms Raman says, “You see, besides Tom Cruise, little girls have always been seeing Spiderman and Batman on the small screen fighting evil with bare hands, emerging victorious. Or else, they have enjoyed watching Tom cat brush teeth in front of the mirror. Now, they simply want to glorify their brothers by tying their
favourite heroes around their wrist”. She adds: “The battery-operated characters have been imported from China. They have been made into rakhis here in Gujarat and Kolkata. You can have them by pulling anywhere between Rs 35 and Rs 100”. So sisters, go ahead. Buy the rakhis. What are you waiting for.
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Exploring the world of crosswords
Jagvir Goyal has not allowed his profession to cast him into moulds. Apart from constructing the tallest chimneys of North India, he has made time for writing, especially on topics related to civil engineering - his chosen area of expertise.
Two of his technical books that deliberated on issues like high-rise buildings and their construction have sold like hot cakes among professionals, though the other eight have not done so well commercially. But that has not kept Goyal, a civil engineer with the Punjab State Electricity Board, from striving harder. Feeding his passion for writing and for responding to the requirements of his readers, Goyal has now added to his corpus two very interesting works. Executed in the little-explored realm of crosswords, the works are all about rejuvenating the mind by exercising it a bit. Ask Goyal how he managed to compile something as inscrutable as “Medical Crosswords” and he tells, “I faced a lot of difficulty in finding related meanings of medical terms. But I was continuously working towards my goal in which my brother helped me a lot. He is a doctor by profession. Actually, the inspiration came when I was regularly contributing to the crossword section of some newspapers and I started getting queries regarding construction crosswords and even engineering crosswords. My books are my responses to those queries.” Another factor that encouraged Goyal was the research by Australian scientists which said, “A crossword a day can bolster brain cells in the same way a physical workout strengthens the heart. Perhaps, one could run a long distance and do a cryptic crossword at the same time.” The task of amassing enough crosswords for compilation was a challenge. Says, Goyal, “It took me one and a half year’s of research and interaction to cull out the best possible crosswords. In the complete form, the books have 30 crosswords each. They cater to professionals as well as casual readers.” Each crossword has been devised carefully to tickle readers’ brain, subject them to the challenge of exciting crosswords and help brainpower grow. Published by Unistar, both the books - “Medical Crosswords” and “Engineering Crosswords” - will soon hit the market of Chandigarh. The third book which Goyal is ready to send to shelves is titled “Thehra Hua Pratibimb.” It is a collection of short stories, most of which have close connection with the author’s life. In that sense, they are autobiographical. On another front, Goyal remains a hardcore construction man who oversees for the Punjab State Electricity Board some major projects, the latest being the micro hydel project at Ropar. His earlier big assignments include the construction of the tallest chimneys in North India, including those at the thermal plant in Ropar.
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Unhygienic conditions at Palika Bazaar
Unhygienic conditions and the absence of proper drainage are some of the problems faced by the 132 shop owners of the Palika Bazaar, Sector 19-C, which is one of the most frequented shopping complex of the city beautiful. The market, which came into being in 1993, has not been looked after by the Chandigarh Administration, which, instead passed on the buck of improving the market to the Municipal Corporation.
Narrating the painful experience Mr Naresh Kumar Jain, general secretary of the Palika Bazar Shopkeepers Welfare Association, out of total 132 shops, 66 basement shopowners were the biggest sufferers as during rains the shops got flooded due to the faulty drainage system. Moreover, water collected on the roofs of the booths was discharged into basement thus flooding it. Every year during monsoons, rains usually flood the shops causing severe losses to the owners. There have been numerous representations to the UT Administrator, the member of Parliament and others but nothing concrete has been done to ameliorate the condition of the market, said Mr Jain. He said in September 2004 they wrote a letter to the UT Administrator asking for a separate sewerage connection and the extension of cantilever to avoid flooding of the Palika bazar due to its low level, but no reply came from the Administrator. Another representation was given to Mr Pawan Bansal, MP, who, however, wrote a detailed letter to Mr Lalit Sharma, Adviser to the UT Administrator, pointing out that the main reason for the flooding of the market was the water comong from the V-4 road, which is at a higher level than the shops. Mr Bansal had also drawn the attention of the Adviser on the architectural weakness. Mr Jain said what was disturbing all of us was that even 11 months after apprising the administration of the pathetic condition of the market, no one had come to their rescue. He said time and again they had stated the facts and brought the plight to the notice of every department concerned, but nothing had happened. Mr Jain said on their part the shop owners had deposited the lease money and corporation tax and were ready to cooperate with the UT Administration on every suggestion, but they want improvement in the area. He said even the parking meant for the visitors to the Palika Bazar lacked cleanliness as foul smell emanated from dustbin placed there. The market owners wanted personal intervention of the UT Administrator for rectifying the faults.
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