Dehradun, January 1
Striking a right balance between private and public participation, Uttarakhand is poised to become a higher education hub only if leaders adopt a new approach while exploiting the burgeoning education market.

Students at the Uttarakhand Institute of Technology library. Tribune photos: Vinod Pundir

It has to be open up to new ideas on learning to gain the first-mover advantage.There are few neighbouring states that have already have good educational infrastructure.The government has to clearly chalk out a policy that does not border on interference but lends quiet support to educational institutions.

The Garhwal region of Uttarakhand has four universities and six deemed universities. While 36 private postgraduate colleges, 47 private B.Ed colleges, 12 aided colleges and 117 BBA, BCA institutes (through tieups).The HNB Garhwal University has been awarded the status of central university and Doon University will be developed as a centre of excellence, once it starts functioning.The region also boasts of the oldest technical institute in Asia, the IIT in Roorkee established in 1847.

While several private players have come to the state and have opened colleges and institutions, experts say the reputation of a college or institute is built only over a period of time while emphasising on research , state-of-the-art laboratories and qualified teaching faculty.

The rise in the number of part-time teachers (lectures) and the freeze on new full-time appointments have affected the morale of academicians. This needs to be looked into.

For the region to become of a hub of higher education, several fronts need to be looked into. “ More salary and enhancing the prestige of teaching as a profession is important. The teachers are underpaid and we have to pay them good grades if we want to retain them,” informed Mahant Devendra Dass at the helm of Guru Ram Rai Educational Mission, one of the largest educational trusts in the state.

As of now, the mission runs 120 educational institutions comprising a postgraduate college, a medical and nursing institution, a college of paramedical sciences, a college of education and a college of agriculture.

According to the Constitution while education is a state subject, the central government has been assigned special responsibilities for higher and professional education.The universities come under the states that are responsible for administration and funding.

Last year the state faced a problem when the present dispensation tried to push through a Bill trying to regulate the functioning of universities by bringing the appointment of VC under its control. However, due to stiff opposition, the Bill could not be passed.

Petty politicking that allows policies and approaches to undermine the functioning of universities has dealt a deadly blow to the education system that often experiences an upheaval each time there is power change.

“With the change in establishment, the policies are also thrown into the bin. Take the case of Doon University that is being touted as a centre of excellence. It was on the fast track when former Chief Minister ND Tiwari put his weight behind it but after the change of government, little effort has gone into the projec.The present government has slowed down the entire process,” informed SuryaKant Dhasmana, a senior Congress leader.

While governments set up and supervise universities, no norms have been laid down for setting up colleges.The state of Uttarakhand has so far not even drafted an education policy. “Colleges that are responsible for shaping future technocrats and administrators lack basic infrastructure and are without teachers. The problem is worse in the hills where there is no infrastructure. We cannot even think of setting up libraries there,” informed Dr DR Purohit of HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar.

Those setting up colleges or institutions have to battle at several fronts. With shrinking land-holdings, acquiring land is becoming difficult. Then there is the question of affiliation with several professional bodies such as the Medical Council of India, the Indian Council of Agriculture, the All- India Council of Technical Education and the Bar Council of India giving the go-ahead to affiliations.

“You may think it is easy setting up a college here but there are several formalities that need to be taken care of. It is a hard task getting a good faculty; one has to offer the very best,” said Jitender Joshi, chairman, Uttaranchal Institute of Technology.

However, to make Uttarakhand a leader in world-class education, the universities must stress on research work.“he “ The weakest link in higher education is the absence of research work. Also, we have not capitalised on the use of English. While the demand for the language is growing, there are few institutions that take the trouble to teach the language properly,” said Prof VK Tiwari, former VC of Uttarakhand Technical University.

Providing access to a large number of students at the bottom while building research-based universities that compete with the world’s best should be the goal of the state government.

Dehradun, January 1
The work at the Doon University, which had started at a frantic pace, has now slowed down as no date has been fixed on the start of the first academic session.

Falling prey to politics, there is uncertainty regarding the fate of the university that had been mandated as a centre of excellence.

Not only is the university headless for the past four months, the appointments for the Mass Communication and Environment and Natural Resource Centre that was to begin functioning in 2008 have not been confirmed.

The university had advertised for the posts of professor, assistant professors for the Mass Communication and Environment and Natural Resources Centres in April with the aim of starting the session in 2008.

“The decision about the appointments will be taken in due course of time. At this point, we cannot commit to a date about the start of the university. However, the work at the construction site (Kedarpuram) is going on,” informed Ramesh Chander Agarwal, finance controller of the university.

According to the Department of Education, the university will begun functioning only after the University Bill is cleared by the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha.

The Bill has been put on the back burner after it was criticised by the Opposition which stalled its passage. The Bill also did not figure in the just concluded session.

The plan for Doon University located in 55 acres at Kedarpuram was pushed by former Chief Minister ND Tiwari. The then Uttarakhand government had touted it as a Centre of Excellence dedicated to higher learning and research. It is to house 1,100 students with a faculty of 200.

The second campus of 100 acres at Sahaspur dedicated to the science and technology campus and an incubator along with a science park was planned in the next stage.

Besides local students, pupils from abroad, especially developing countries, would be admitted.

The foundation stone of the university was laid in 2004 while the Doon University Bill-2005 was passed by the Legislative Assembly and assented by the Governor in 2005.

Dehradun, January 1
With barely a month-and-a-half left for the start of the forest fire season, state authorities have started formulating a work plan to cope up with the menace. Notably, the forest fire season starts from February 15 and continues till June 30 or till the start of rainy season, whichever is earlier.

The plan has assumed more importance as there was a sharp rise in incidents of forest fire last summer, affecting as many as 1,595 hectares and causing an estimated loss of Rs 3.67 lakh.

The Rajaji Park authorities are busy forming a work plan and have sought reports from various areas inside the park. “We are identifying areas vulnerable to forest fires taking into account past instances and would come up with remedial measures accordingly,” G. Pandey, Warden of Rajaji Park said.

“The inputs linked to forest fires taken from each and every range of the park are put together towards compilation of the work plan that would be submitted to the higher forest authorities for budgetary allocations,” he added.

Last summer, forest fires took place in almost every division, including wildlife habitats like Rajaji National Park. Alarmingly, fires started quite early last year and by March around 70 fires had taken place. This has become a cause of worry for forest officials who are apprehensive of bigger fires in the days to come. The state forest headquarters have also issued booklets linked to necessary directives for putting a check on fires.

Clearing of fire-line starts ahead of the forest fire season, followed by setting up of crew stations that act as control rooms for prompt action in case of detection of fires. Sensitisation of communities living in the forest fringes is also part of the strategy.

As part of awareness exercises, seminars where members Mahila Mangal Dals, Van Panchayats and other village-level public representatives take part, are convened in villages lying in the periphery of forests.

Notably, as villagers have distanced themselves from forests due to rigid forest laws, countering forest fires has become a more formidable challenge for the authorities.

Forest authorities in the recent years have also been utilising satellite data provided by Uttarakhand Science Application Centre for timely detection of fires.

A survey revealed that almost 90 per cent of fires are started by humans. Therefore, last year forest authorities also issued a veiled threat that any human reason behind occurrence of forest fires would lead to punitive action under sections of the Forest Protection Act. 

Haridwar, January 1
With the local administration and municipal committee still undecided on whether to ban polythene and to promote paper and jute bags, the Small and Medium Traders Association (SMTA) of Haridwar took the initiative of not using polythene.

The traders, mainly street vendors, gathered at Har-ki-Pauri yesterday and took a pledge to not use polythene in any form while selling their wares. They then went from shop to shop and from showrooms to pavement vendors asking them to donate their polythene bags to them.

State president of the SMTA, Sanjay Chopra, said, “Polythene has become a menace for society and nature. We thought that by giving goods in polythene bags, we are also contributing to making the environment and the city unclean. So, we decided to take the initiative. And seeing the traders participating in this campaign and donating their stock of polythene bags, people also didn’t ask for polythene bags.”

“This is a unique way of controlling the menace of polythene which takes a long time to decompose. We are also thinking of starting an awareness campaign about the negatives of polythene to students,” said SK Batra, a teacher at SMJN college.

The step has been welcomed by the people and traders are terming it as “Polythene Gandhigiri”.

“We will not take any action but we urge traders not to use polythene voluntarily and if any one still does, we will resort to “Polythene Gandhigiri”, said Dharam Pal Singh, president, Jwalapur Fruit and Vegetables Vendor Association.

Mahendra Saini, Haridwar district president of the association, said that like the polio campaign, this campaign also needs self-participation and awareness. He further said that for environment protection and to make Uttarakhand clean, it is imperative to stop the use of polythene instantly.

Bhoopendra Rajput, Om Prakash, Taslim Ahmed, Indra Saini, Arjun Negi and several traders of Old Haridwar and Jwalapur participated in the campaign.

Dehradun, January 1
Putting their lives in danger, Babli Khan and her brother Sonu saved seven children from drowning in the Ganga in Haridwar in June, 2004. But today, the brave woman of Uttarakhand, who was honoured with the National Bravery Award, is struggling to save Sonu’s life, who is suffering from cancer.

Babli has been trying to meet Chief Minister BC Khanduri since five days. Security personnel at the Civil Secretariat are not allowing her inside.

Babli was awarded in 2006 and honoured at the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi. The then Uttarakhand Chief Minister ND Tiwari had also awarded Babli for her bravery. But today she is a disappointed person.

Babli’s father, Shadi Hussain, is a labourer and earns Rs 70 per day. “Sonu is suffering from cancer. A whopping Rs 8 lakh is required for his treatment. Our family is poor and can’t arrange such a big amount,” said Babli.

She said she was hoping for some help from the state and therefore had been trying to meet the CM. “The security personnel didn’t allow me to in”, she said, urging the authorities to come tro her aid.

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