The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

EDUCATION

2-day national conference of KV education officers begins
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25
The Kendriya Vidyalayas Sangathan, the body managing the largest chain of schools in the world (in terms of spread), is all set to collaborate with state government schools for various exchange programmes, including sharing of resources material and intellect. The national campaign for this unique tie-up has already begun in some states of the country.

Stating that “our doors are open” for any collaboration or exchange of manpower, course material, training methods etc, the sangathan’s joint commissioner of academics, Mr U.N. Singh, added, “Our experience should be shared by the state governments and we can help state schools in rural areas.”

Mr U.N. Singh was talking to The Tribune after inaugurating a two-day national conference of education officers that began at the sangathan’s regional office here today.

The sangathan, catering to wards of transferable Central Government employees across the country, has 932 schools, including in areas as far-flung as Kargil, Port Blair, Car Nicobar and Tewang within India and three schools abroad in Tehran, Moscow and Kathmandu.

Pointing out that Kendriya Vidyalayas had recorded the highest success rate of 92.89 per cent in the Class XII results declared by the CBSE, Mr U. N. Singh said this astounding success was due to a “focussed approach to academics, particularly by the low achievers. Our identification process begins in July itself and the class room is divided into the low, the average and the high achievers. The desired action is taken for each group. We prepare our own course material from examinations point of view and an additional course material is provided to the high achievers. School-level tests are analysed closely and remedial teaching to eliminate the negative points and deficiencies are also undertaken.

The education officers from various regional offices of the sangathan are here to discuss the Academic Plan of 2006-2007 and chalk out strategies for improving achievement levels in Kendriya Vidyalayas next year.

Mr S.S. Sehrawat, Assistant Commissioner, KVS (RO), Chandigarh, extended a warm welcome to the chief guest, Dr U.N Singh, the Deputy Commissioner (Training) Mr S.K.Jain and the education officers (EOs).

Mr Sehrawat disclosed that KVs in most of the regions had achieved above 90 per cent result in the Class XII examination of the CBSE. He complimented the education officers for working as important functionaries between the schools and the Assistant Commissioners at the regional level.

In his key-note address, Dr U.N. Singh termed the occasion historic, as the conference for education officers is the first of its kind being held with an objective to give them authority along with responsibility. He urged the EOs to be the torch-bearers, generating harmony as task-oriented and vibrant persons. The need of the hour was to adopt a holistic approach and cultivate the culture of change, as the results of exams will have no relevance in the times to come. He emphasised upon developing a sound combination of creativity and conformity amongst the learners.

“These schools are one of the most potent tools of social cohesion and national integration. Students from all over the country gather more than once a year for various events like science exhibitions, social science exhibitions, sports etc. Even the teachers are encouraged to teach in different areas,” said Mr U.N. Singh.

The deliberations of the day included discussions on the pros and cons of the grading system from Class I to Class IX, the ways and means of making learning a joyous experience, the role of education officers in steering-cum-monitoring committees, short-term teaching programmes for teachers, fixing of accountability for unsatisfactory performance of teachers, RTI Act 2005, supervision of vidyalayas by the education officers and a host of other issues related to education.

Seminar on dynamics of civil aviation
Tribune News Service

Mohali, May 25
“Since the adoption of the open sky policy by the Union Government the civil aviation sector is looking up and the sector has the potential to achieve a growth rate of 20 per cent. However, the bottlenecks in terms of lack of infrastructure, lack of trained manpower etc., may hamper the growth prospects,” said Prof Bhagat Ram, Dean, ICFAI Business School, in his inaugural address at a seminar on the topic “civil aviation – changing dynamics” held here today. He further emphasised a lot was desired in terms of airport modernisation and the government had done the right thing in forging public private partnership for the same.

Dr Sanjeev Chaddha, a professor in ICFAI Business School, in his keynote address, said the state run carriers virtually enjoyed monopoly in this sector, which had led to inefficiency. He added that the Indian travellers were benefiting from the low cost airlines ushering in a revolution in the aviation sector. The 250 million Indian middle class with good purchasing power, booming economy, good tourism potential of the country and need for faster mode of travel were the key drivers behind the growth in this sector.

Prof Sudhir Diwan, Associate Dean, ICFAI Business School, cautioned that the picture may not be as rosy in the Indian civil aviation sector as it seemed right now. The no frills aviation model, which had been successful in the UK may not be repeated in India because of different environment altogether.

Dr Kewal Raj observed that there was a lot of scope for the expansion of the capacity in the Indian civil aviation but the expansion should be done with caution and at a moderate rate. It had to be ensured that expansion should be accompanied by the utilisation of the capacity. Hence, there was a need for smaller aircraft linking smaller cities with smaller airports, building of which did not involve much infrastructure cost.

Prof Devander Narang emphasised that the aviation industry faced a shortage of skilled and trained manpower and sooner this problem was addressed the better it would be for the sector. Prof Arunesh deliberated that no frills airlines were the order of the day and were here to stay. They operated on cheaper economies, fly to smaller airports, had a quick turnaround time and further saved costs by multi-tasking, not having business lounges, reducing distribution costs and employing the minimum required staff. “If any country has an immediate need of a low-cost, no-frills airline, then it is India”.

Prof Devesh deliberated that proper utilisation of the latest information technology and telecommunication facilities in the Indian Civil Aviation sector could assure better and efficient administration, better services to customers, improved baggage handling, improved air traffic management and more confidence in aviation security services.

Dr Anupama Bains stressed that with over 122 airports in India and a growth rate of 12 per cent in the domestic tourism sector and 7 per cent in the international sector, there was a great opportunity that could be captivated by the allied industry, tourism.

Dr R.K. Sharma pointed out that to compete with the private players Indian Airlines would have to work for cost reduction and modern systems had to be adopted for upgrading facilities to be provided to international customers. Prof Ginni summed up the seminar and offered words of thanks.

Court stays Punjab decision to acquire land
Our High Court Correspondent

Chandigarh, May 25
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed the dispossession of owners of land at Lakhnaur village near Mohali. It has also issued notice of motion for July 4 on the petition filed by Mr Bhag Singh and 28 other residents of the village challenging the decision of the Punjab Government to acquire their land.

In their petition Mr Bhag Singh and others have prayed that the notification dated March 21, 2004, issued by the Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act and another notification issued on April 6, 2005, under Section 6 of the same Act be quashed. They have also prayed that the court declare that in view of the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution of India, only committees for district planning can carry out development of the areas under various panchayats and municipalities.

The petitioners have also sought declaration of Section 23 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act as ultra-vires the Constitution as it does not provide for fixing the compensation to be paid for acquisition of land “at not less than the market prices” as on date of the acquisition.

After hearing the counsel for the petitioners, the Bench of Mr Justice Ashutosh Mohunta and Mr Justice Mahesh Grover issued notice to the respondents for July 4.

The respondents named in the petition include the state of Punjab through the Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Punjab, the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) through its Chief Administrator, the Collector, Acquisition, PUDA, and the Union of India.

On a devotional trip
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25
She rests between musical notes and acts between those. Perhaps that sets apart Rupinder Mahindroo, classical music instructor at Welham Girls School, Dehra Dun.

For her, music is the be all and end all. She will do anything to keep her proximity to the passion and let it grow.

She has recorded an album of classical Gurbani music, which has been released by HMV Saregama.

Being screened on Punjabi channels these days, musical tracks from the album ‘Jhim Jhim Varse Amrit Dhara’ are rich with the power of traditional Gurbani.

At home in Sector 36 here, Rupinder speaks of her passion for the words of the Gurus, their inimitable style of presentation and rendering and their unmatched genius.

She begins by explaining why she has chosen a genre that does not go too well with the commercial wave sweeping the music market in India.

“I have always been drawn towards Gurbani sangeet for the power it exercises over your mind and heart. It brings out the best in any musician. For me, the choice had more to do with memories of my childhood than anything else. With Gurbani, I could be myself, exuding the deepest possible emotions and enhancing the lyrics as best as I could”, says Rupinder.

She has also been frequenting the West to offer musical contributions to Indian communities settled there.

Though she has performed for some genuine causes, like that of the environment for Vandana Shiva’s Navdanya, Rupinder feels most at home while singing Gurbani.

For her latest album, she has attempted some hard stuff.

She says, “I have rendered some shabads in raaga tilang and sorath, both of which are difficult to master. I have done some shabads in their ordained raagas so that the spirit of the shabad remains intact. The Gurus wrote Gurbani to be rendered in particular raagas”.

Rupinder is also looking forward to an exciting project.

It will see her in concert with Anna Tanvir, estranged daughter of thespian Habib Tanvir, who had recently publicly accepted her as his daughter.

Settled in France, Anna is adept at the harp and has done some informal concerts with Rupinder. This time they have decided to make their collaboration work formal and for this, Rupinder will travel to France. She is among the very few alumni of Panjab University who have stuck to the classical route.

Rodrigues for integrated view on Kalagram remodelling
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25
The Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Gen S.F. Rodrigues, today called for adopting an integrated view to synthesise the elements of art, culture and tourism in the concept plan for remodelling of Kalagram and making it an important focal point for the northern region for the projection of our rich heritage.

He emphasised the need for giving a major impetus to infrastructure development with the addition of permanent and seasonal handicrafts stalls for different states, opening up a new intimate theatre, a new gallery for art objects, modernisation of the lighting system, multi-level parking, traffic circuits to ensure easy access to different venues and places of interest.

Accompanied by Mrs Jean Rodrigues, the Home Secretary, Mr Krishna Mohan, the Managing Director, CITCO, Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, the Director, NZCC, Mr R.T. Jindal, Gen Rodrigues, who is also the Chairman of the NZCC, today visited Kalagram and examined the existing facilities available in the complex.