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Mohali schools no match for those in UT
Mohali, August 18 The mid-day meal? We ask. “No”, a teacher is quick to host all arrangement are for a group of teachers here for a seminar. The hopeful students do not get anything and if the signals from the Punjab Government Education Department are anything to go by, it would be a long time before the mid-day meal scheme becomes a reality in Ropar. In fact, mid-day meal noises being made by the department for the past few months has had a detrimental result. Every student of the school was getting 3 kg of wheat for his family every month as part of a state-level scheme. But this was stopped on the pretext that a daily meal would replace this scheme. Now that there is neither wheat to be given nor the mid-day meal. Compare this to the situation in UT schools where government primary school students get two mathis each day as mid-day meal. In fact, a comparison of Chandigarh government schools with those in Mohali shows that the Punjab schools lag behind abysmally in every aspect. Education was made free for all government school students till Class VIII in Chandigarh recently. The Punjab Government also claims that government education is free for all till class XIII and for girls till class XII. But the reality is that while students do not have to pay tuition fee (which is as low as Rs 10 a month for boys in higher classes), they have to pay an average of Rs 100 annually for various funds and another Rs 100 for the parents-teachers association fund. Even students in primary classes are charged these funds. Going by the quality of education being provided, it is only the poorest of the poor parents who are sending their children for primary and secondary education and even nominal amounts like these seem a burden. And when no facilities are available, it even pinches more. Till a few months ago, the High School in Phase 11 here did not have enough rooms to hold all classes. Students sitting under trees attending classes is a common sight in almost all village schools. And where there are buildings, these are in a bad state. The walls of the primary school in Phase 3B1 are damp with water seeping at many places. There is no furniture and whatever little they had is broken and lying in a corner of the classroom as junk. There are no water coolers and bathrooms are almost always full of filth and stench. And to top it all, examination results speak for themselves. While students of Government Schools in Chandigarh compete with private school students for top board positions, not a single student of government schools in Mohali has made it to the top positions in Punjab in the board examinations in the past three years. As many as 85 per cent of the students of a government school in a nearby village had failed the board examination two years ago and the situation only improved marginally last year.
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PU supplementary exam rules may
be changed
Chandigarh, August 19 Following the complaints of many students, the Panjab University officials had decided to look into the matter. A committee was formed by the Vice-Chancellor on a resolution moved by two Fellow, Dr Mukesh Kumar Arora and Mr Ashok Sachdeva, who spoke on behalf of the students saying they suffered when the question paper for the supplementary examination were set as per the revised syllabi. They explained that the students had to suffer because they had not gone through the changed topics in the syllabi. Consequently, students were unable to clear the supplementary examination even in the given two chances. The committee, which met under the chairmanship of the Dean, University Instructions, Prof J.K. Gupta, resolved that if the change in the syllabi was 20 per cent or less the supplementary paper in April would be set according to the revised syllabi. If the change in the syllabi was more than 20 per cent, the question paper would be set as per the old syllabi at the time of the first examination. For this purpose, the Chairperson of the department concerned shall give a certificate for the change in the syllabi. This matter would be deliberated at a meeting of the Syndicate on August 27. Seventyone other issues pertaining to the university would also be taken up at the meeting.
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Supplementary exam results today
Chandigarh, August 19 All schools located in Chandigarh are requested to collect their results and mark sheets from the Regional Office, CBSE, Sector 32-C, Chandigarh, on August 22. Mark sheets and result sheets of all candidates located outside Chandigarh are being dispatched by speed post. List of candidates for year 2006 can also be collected on August 22 by the local schools along with the result and mark sheets of Class X and pass certificates of Class XII supplementary examination-2005. Mark sheets of private candidates are also being dispatched to them directly.
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Seminar on stem cell biology
Chandigarh, August 19 The seminar was inaugurated by Prof J.K. Gupta, Dean, University Instruction, Panjab University. Giving a brief background on the centre and the theme of the seminar, Prof S.K. Kulkarni, coordinator of the centre, stated that stem cell research, a thrust area of the programme, had opened new vistas in bio-medical sciences and held a great promise in regenerative medicine. Prof Deepak Kaul of Molecular Medicine, PGIMER, Chandigarh, gave an overview as well as described the various application of stem cell in treating diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular and neuro-degenerative diseases. The other speakers at the seminar, Prof K. Kannan, Prof Lalit Kumar, Prof Sumitra Dash and Prof G.S. Gupta spoke on the challenges of haematopoietic stem cell transplantations in the management of several diseases, including thalassaemia. A panel discussion moderated by Prof D.D. Bansal, deputy coordinator, was held to streamline the establishment of stem cell biology research on the campus, including human resource development. More than 80 participants from different departments and institutions participated in the seminar.
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Eye society’s conference
on Aug 21
Chandigarh, August 19 An emerging cause of blindness in the country, ocular trauma manifests in different ways, as informed to Chandigarh Tribune by Dr Sunandan Sud, Head, Ophthalmology Department, GMCH-32. “We are still not aware of the extent of this problem, nor are we fully equipped to handle the same. It is to bring this issue to light that we are holding this year’s annual conference,” he said. Besides discussing reports and studies on the extent of ocular trauma and their role in blindness, especially among children, the conference will witness a special lecture on “Congenital Ptosis” by internationally renowned eye plastic surgeon Dr A.K. Grover.
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Interviews for PU Registrar’s post
Chandigarh, August 19
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Tiny hands make rakhis
Mohali, August 19 After this little sisters tied rakhis on the wrists of their brothers in the traditional spirit of the sacred festival.
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Tiny tots celebrate rakhi
Zirakpur, August 19 Mrs kamal Chadha, school principal, educated the students about the significance of the festival.
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High court Our High Court Correspondent
Chandigarh, August 19 During the hearing of a petition filed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Bar Association, Chandigarh, seeking direction to the respondents to allot type VII government accommodation to the vice-president and three members of the Chandigarh Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, the Bench was informed that while the UT Administration claimed that it did not have the requisite accommodation, Mr Barnala and Mr Bitta had been given houses in Sector 7-A. The association stated that despite repeated requests, the vice-president and the members, who were judicial officers as per rules, had not been allotted suitable accommodation. The hearing will now resume on September 2.
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Filming a unique literary commune
“As a Punjabi born and brought up in Mumbai, I knew little about the literary traditions of Punjab. The cliché about us Punjabis is that our culture is agriculture. But this book showed me that there was another side to Punjab that was little known and I set my heart on documenting this,“ says Indu. A cinema buff , the subject of her doctorate too revolved around studying cultural identity and gender relations through cinematic and literary texts with special reference to select Indian films. So, it was for her research that she took up the film appreciation course at the Film Institute in Pune in 2003. There she met a young non-resident Punjabi who screened his film made in Bengal. Indu says: “He was a Ghatak fan, had spent seven years in Bengal, learnt Bengali and then made the film. I wondered why he had not made a film on Punjab for he knew the language. I decided then that I would work on the Punjab theme.” Indu started her research on Preetnagar and the magazine, Preetlari, founded by Punjabi litterateur Gurbax Singh Preetlari. She approached Doordarshan and was able to convince the authorities of the merits of the project. Doordarshan agreed to five episodes on Preetnagar for which Indu was the researcher and scriptwriter. But as the project progressed, she had to be the anchor and even assist in direction. The episodes were aired and appreciated. But it was not enough for Indu and she made additions by interviewing people who had been associated with the good old days at Preetnagar like writer Tera Singh Chan and singer Surinder Kaur. She also included younger people who were now involved in the revival of Preetnagar like Pakistan theatre activist Madeeha Gauhar and had a tete-a-tete with Poonam Singh, Editor of Preetlari. Now that she has documented Preetnagar and her thesis which studies films based on literature like ‘Teesri Kasam’, ‘Gaban’, ‘Ghare Bhaire’, ‘Umrao Jaan’, ‘Rudaali’ and ‘Train to Pakistan’ is completed and has been submitted, what does she plan next. Indu says: “I will do another film on Punjab and love in its purity, but I have not yet decided on the subject.” |
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Viewing cameras through ages
Suresh Kumar of Indiano Studios, Sector 17, has abridged history of cameras for the casual viewer.
In doing so he has not only proved his dexterity in sifting chaff from the essential, but has also created a body of work that can match the most splendid of shows in content and presentation. His exhibition “Plate to Pixel” which opened in Government Museum gallery, Sector 10, on Friday, could not have been better timed, being the World Photography Day. Right at the start, Kumar traps visitors’ attention with his priceless display of the world’s oldest surviving picture. Taken by French inventor Joseph Niepce in 1826, the picture resulted after an incredible eight-hour exposure. It was produced on a light sensitive sheet of pewter in an adapted camera rightly called Obscura. Besides displaying this frame, Kumar introduces viewers to the origins of World Photography Day. A board reads: “Eminent scientist Francois Arago made a presentation to the French Academies Des Science and Beaux Arts and described in detail the photographic process invented by Louis Jacques. The French government bought the process and presented it to the world on August 19, 1839. That’s how the day got its name.” Replete with historical references to Kodak, Canon, Fuji, Leica and their unique origins (George Eastman invented the word “Kodak” just because it’s easy to pronounce; it has no meaning), the exhibition leads you through the enigmatic world of cameras. On display are 80 rare cameras, which Kumar sourced over six years from friends and professionals. You see in the show the first camera ever imported by India, the massive block making camera, movie and other cameras of all conceivable makes and types. The show is divided based on year-wise evolution of camera technology. It begins from 1895 which witnessed experimentations that led to the making of Kodak pocket cameras, Rollieflex (first made in 1928) and Exata. Then comes another era (1931 to 1940) which makes room for better technology as Kodak Retina, Solida, Wirgin, Graflex and Zeiss Iron come in. Box cameras also make a debut. Gradually, Kumar upgrades the display by presenting cameras with better automation techniques. He also shows a picture of the “Mammoth”, 1400 pound camera which was created to take picture of a luxury express train in Chicago. Operated by 15 men, Mammoth moved on a specially designed rail car. Development and printing of its photo needed 10 gallon of chemical solution. Still rooted in the old styles, Kumar says, “Nothing matches a manual camera when it comes to results. Pixels fitted in the latest digital cameras can offer quick results but they can’t offer the quality manual cameras can.” To establish his contention, Kumar has also displayed black and white pictures that match antique cameras in splendour. From portraits to landscapes, the photo display has everything you need to see to be assured yet again that “old is gold”. Pictures are by SP Sharma, Dev Inder Singh, Surinder Dhami and R.K. Chib. The exhibition is open for week.
TNS Museum to start corner on rare cameras
As demanded by UT Home Secretary, Mr Krishna Mohan, who inaugurated the show, museum director Mr V.N. Singh has consented to start a special corner on rare and unique cameras. He will seek help from Suresh Kumar. The museum will also source photographs taken from different cameras to show the difference in results.
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Aping Gates not an easy task
Over 12 years later, truth stares him in the face and he is not a very happy man to know that “marketing a product is more important than developing it”. Driven by zest to impart computer-aided education to students, he has developed several virtual tutors using cartoons and animation as teaching aids. “These are excellent products, but people are very reluctant to buy them because why would anyone spend money for a product that people expect to get for a pittance in the world of piracy”. The two biggest problems that this Nalagarh-based software developer finds are — protecting his products from being stolen by software pirates and competing with multinational brands that have a tremendous marketing network. Even though ‘HIM COMPUTERS’ has nearly 24 reasonably priced and specifically developed software products, the company is hardly known in the market because of lack of aggressive Mr Sharma is not alone, Software development has become a cottage industry in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, but most of these entrepreneurs do not know how to market their products. Mr Sharma, for example, had no problem selling his software when he developed customised solutions for companies like Drish Shoes, Compace, Revap, News agencies etc. But he finds it hard to market educational software while keeping it safe from pirates. Mr Sharma told The Tribune: “Since my aim in life is to do something extraordinary in the field of education, I established HIM Computers in 1992 at Nalagarh in Solan with the aim to impart computer and other education to students of this area. I have, over the years, developed many tutors to impart them education. But I don’t have the infrastructure to market my software”. To overcome financial crunch, he has even used the voice of his daughter Reva, son Parth and sister Nisha in his interactive kids’ software. Software developed my HIM Computers include software such as “Learn to speak English”, “Prepare for IELTS”, “Learn Punjab”, software to learn mathematical tables, computer basics, interactive internet tutor, JAVA tutor, office organiser for advocates using voice recognition, dictation pad using voice recognition interactive tutor on algebra and geometry. The software being developed include ‘Unique Tester Math’ as per the CBSE syllabus for Class X, virtual accounts teacher and a software to teach Punjabi to NRIs using voice recognition. He says: “My math software that can replace a teacher has been applauded by teachers and Principals, but they do not recommend it to students fearing that they will lose tuition work”. He is working on “Virtual Reality” and plans to develop software for science practicals, but he finds allocating funds the main constraint for developing software. He says If marketing is handled properly by the Government or some other organisation, sky is the limit to develop very useful, educational software which will make learning fun.
TNS
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Play with a message
The Theatre Arts in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, Chandigarh Administration, presented ‘Oorja Ek Shakti Sarot’ to a large crowd at the Plaza on Friday. Gen S.F. Rodridges, (retd), Administrator, UT, Chandigarh, graced the occasion as chief guest.
School students and Government College of Education, Sector 20, pupils, formed a human chain holding banners with slogans on creating awareness on the use of non-conventional energy. The Director, Information and Technology, Mr Vivek Atrey, said the state-level function held on the eve of the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi would be celebrated as ‘Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Oorja Divas’, as a tribute to his vision. Though it was a challenging task to craft a drama aimed at creating awareness and promoting the new and renewable sources of conventional energy, such as solar energy-oriental appliances, playwright Suvinder Pal successfully accomplished the job, weaving the script with mythology. The audience relished the crisp dialogues and superb natural acting by all actors. Besides Sachin and Yogesh, Swinder Pal, Yogesh Tungal, Vijay Kmal, Bhavan, Gurjit Kang, Ashwani and Rohin formed the cast. The Department of Science and Technology sponsored activities like essay writing competitions, rallies, slogan writing, painting and poster-making in collaboration with 30 schools and colleges to commemorate ‘Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Oorja
Divas’ tomorrow.
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Chandigarh, August 19
Developing world-class software by itself does not ensure wealth and fame of the stature of Bill Gates. This is even more true of entrepreneurs like Mr Ashwani Sharma, a PEC graduate, who quit his top-class computer job to develop educational software for schoolchildren.