M A I L B A G

Punjab should recruit qualified English teachers

English was introduced from Class I in Punjab though most primary school teachers can neither speak, write nor understand English. They have had no exposure to the methodology of teaching English while under training. Our schools too have no teaching aids. Hundreds of schools are also without teachers.

The situation in the secondary schools is no different. There is no cadre of English teachers. English teaching is entrusted to teachers of other subjects who did not offer elective English at the graduate level and without a course in Methodology of English teaching at the B.Ed level.

Worse, their teaching is so defective that 70-80 per cent students (nearly 90 per cent in government schools) fail in English and 17 to 20 grace marks have to be awarded to help them pass this test. The Punjab School Education Board has taken out English from the list of subjects in which one has to pass to clear the Matriculation examination. If the government is really serious about English in schools, competent and qualified teachers are a must.

Dr T.R. SHARMA, Patiala

Solar energy

India must popularise the use of solar energy to meet its energy requirements because there is plenty of sunshine available the whole year. According to the US Energy Foundation, solar energy could furnish 74 per cent of the country’s power needs if available residential and commercial rooftops were fully utilised. Of course, how to harness this energy economically and efficiently is the main question.

An American company has developed a high-efficiency photo voltaic roofing panel that uses mono-crystalline cells to form a single ply roofing membrane. Its unique design makes it look like common roofing material, not like the ugly solar panels. Yet, it triples the amount of power produced by the old-fashioned photo voltaic cells. A single panel module produces 480 watts per hour, which could slash an average Indian household electricity bill to nothing.

SUBHASH C. CHAUDHRY, Indianapolis (USA)

Breaking norms

The Khushboos and the Mahesh Bhatts of our society are grossly abusing their celebrity status in society to pervert and lead astray the Indian youth. They have no authority to direct society on matters of sex and morality.

The conservative Indian society must resist and oppose the cultural and moral pollution by those who are bent upon breaking down the established social norms and age-old civilised traditions and moral codes of Indian society.

YOGESHWAR DAWAR, Hisar

Air pollution

One can see the kind of air pollution in the past one month due to the burning of paddy straw left over in the field. The sky is overcast with smoke and fog adds to it. Things go worse particularly at night. People allergic to such pollution suffer from severe breathlessness particularly at night.

Since farmers are responsible for this pollution, no one is bothered to check the menace. Laws are there, but these are not enforced in the absence of political will at various levels.

The Supreme Court has taken a lead in this regard. But it should ask the Punjab Pollution Control Board to appoint an independent agency to measure and publish every day the previous day’s pollution figures in the city newspapers and the measures taken to control the same. In case the parameters are beyond permissible limits, then the PPCB should be fined for its failure to control the same.

SURESH ARORA, Patiala

Not men’s monopoly

Night shifts are no more the exclusive monopoly of men. More and more women should work in the night shifts if India should progress and compete with the developed nations. It will help change the mentality of some men who seem to think that women working late in the night are not cultured or decent. If women work in the night shift, it will help ensure a safe and secure environment for them in future.

Night shifts will also give women more flexibility to organise their homes and work, apart from fetching them more money and tremendous confidence.

SIMERPREET KAUR, Kurali

Neglected bus stand

I draw your attention to the neglected condition of the Ludhiana bus stand. The parking zone for inter-state buses is uneven and has a shabby look. There is no drain and the whole area becomes a lake whenever it rains.

The bus stand needs renovation. It needs proper maintenance. The parking area for local buses is worse. The urinals near the outer boundary wall are in a dilapidated condition and need prompt repairs.

IQBAL SINGH BAINS, Ludhiana