Jalandhar, February 12
If facts are to be believed then the status of education in Punjab is virtually in the doldrums as a majority of the aided colleges are short of lecturers. The situation is same in the rural and urban areas with the institutions managing the affair in makeshift arrangements.

A look at the statistics of the 136 aided colleges in the state revealed that nearly 1,600 posts of teacher and 2,000 posts of non-teaching staff are lying vacant. The colleges are running the show with the help of ad hoc lecturers who are recruited on contract basis every year. The situation has become all the more worse with a majority of the lecturers getting retired.

Last time recruitments under the grants-in-aid scheme for the posts of lecturer and non-teaching staff were held in October, 2004. There has been no review of posts since November 1, 1981, in these colleges. The only recruitment conducted in the recent past was that of 229 Punjabi lecturers when Punjabi was made a compulsory subject.

Principals Association of Non-Government Affiliated Colleges president Dr Jaspal Singh Randhawa said, “Keeping in mind the changing scenario of education, the government should lift the ban on recruitments of lecturers in the colleges. It should also provide the facility of letting lecturers take classes of similar subjects in the respective colleges as this will help in making the system flexible.”

Experts believe that over the period of time there has been a remarkable increase in the number of courses, subjects and students in the colleges. However, a continuous shortage of lecturers has led to problems for them. It needs to be mentioned here that the Union ministry of human resource development had asked the state governments to fill the vacant posts in their colleges for maintaining the academic standard but nothing has been done so far. He added that, however, Haryana and Chandigarh had been conducting review of posts every year as a result of which there was no shortage of staff. At present the aided colleges were receiving a grant of Rs 80.28 crore against the liability of Rs 105 crore. 

Hoshiarpur, February 12
With the arrest of two persons, the police today claimed to have solved a dacoity and murder case which took place on the night of January 10, 2008, in a factory on Bharwain Road here. The accused were identified as Bhati Ram of Alwar (Rajasthan), presently living at Jaijon crossing, Saloh, Una district (Himachal Pradesh), and Ravi of the local Balbir Colony.

Talking to mediapersons here today, SP (D) Sushil Kumar stated that Ram Bahadur, who hailed from Nepal and had been working in Paul Valve and Kokaj Factory on Bharwain Road as night watchman, was rutally murdered on the night of January 10 by some persons when they were committing a robbery in the factory and the former resisted their act.

The dacoits decamped with a huge quantity of nickel and some other goods. An FIR under section 460, IPC, was registered at the Sadar police station on January 11. During investigation, Bhati and Ravi emerged as the main suspects and both were arrested.

The interrogation of the duo revealed that they had formed a gang consisting of Nandu of Jhuggian, near Gurdwara Goiandwal Sahib, Rana and Rajesh Kumar, alias Kali, both of local Balbir Colony, Raju Bhaia and Vijay Bhaia, both of Manakpur, Chittarkot district (UP), along with some of their relatives. On January 10, 2008, Rajesh called all of them at Balbir Colony and hatched a conspiracy to steal nickel from the factory.

Equipped with iron rods and lathis, they went into the factory at midnight and after scaling the rear wall entered its premises. When they were stealing nickel, Ram Bahadur challenged them following which they assaulted him with rods due to which he died.

During interrogation, they confessed their involvement in various theft and snatching cases committed in Hoshiarpur, Mukerian, Kapurthala, Beas, Goindwal Sahib and Ferozepur. 

Hoshiarpur, February 12
On the complaint of NRI Devinder Kaur, wife of late Udham Singh, presently residing at 816, Manohar Gali, Jalandhar Road, the NRI police station here has registered a case against her NRI son Paramjit Singh, presently residing in Canada and his friend Manmohan Singh of local Mohalla Gokal Nagar under sections 406, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 506, 120-B and 34 of the IPC for fraudulently selling her house and snatching her gold ornaments and fixed deposit receipts (FDRs).

According to the FIR, Devinder Kaur stated that her elder son Paramjit Singh took her to Canada in January 2007 where he allegedly engaged her in domestic work. Despite her repeated requests, he did not send her back to India.

Later, her daughter Harjeet Kaur, who has also been residing in Canada, got her freed with the help of the Canadian police and sent her back to India on November 22, 2008.

When she went to her house, she came to know that Paramjit Singh, along with his friend Manmohan Singh, had allegedly prepared a fake power of attorney and sold the house. She further alleged that her son snatched her gold ornaments and FDRs when the latter came to India to take her to Canada.

On December 10, 2008, Manmohan Singh came to her and allegedly threatened her with dire consequences for reporting the matter against Paramjit Singh with the Canadian police.

The NRI police station has arrested Manmohan Singh and today produced him in the court of the additional civil judicial magistrate here who remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days. 

Hoshiarpur, February 12
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal laid the foundation stones of a food and craft institute at Ram Colony Camp, bridges on the Bhangi and Chack Sadhu choes on the Hoshiarpur-Una road yesterday.

Later at a vikas rally-cum-sangat darshan at Bagpur, 7 km from here, Badal disbursed a cheque for Rs 1 crore to the Shamchaurasi municipal council and for Rs 2.71 crore for the development of Shamchaurasi segment.

Badal criticised the Central government for its “anti-Punjab policies”. He said no worthwhile industrial unit had come to Punjab during the rule of the UPA government.

He said some parties only contested elections to maintain their existence among the public. The SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress were the only political fronts in Punjab which were contesting the elections in real sense.

Criticising the recent minimum support price (MSP) for wheat, he said it should be fixed according to the prevailing cost of agricultural inputs. He appealed to the people to only vote and support the SAD-BJP alliance candidates in the forthcoming elections of Lok Sabha.

Later, at a public rally at Tanda, 32 km from here, Badal provided cheques for Rs 2 crore and Rs 1 crore to the MCs of the area and Hariana town, respectively, and Rs 2.50 crore for the development of Tanda segment.

He gave cheques for Rs 3 crore to the MC here, and Rs 4 crore for the development of the Hoshiarpur segment.

Although the candidature for the Hoshiarpur (reserved) Lok Sabha constituency is yet to be announced by the BJP, IAS officer Som Parkash, who recently got premature retirement as PUDA chief and is seeking the BJP ticket from this seat, accompanied the Chief Minister.

Amritsar, February 12
The two-day Continue Medical Education (CME)-2009 would be organised by the Amritsar Medical College Alumni Association (AMCAA) and the Amritsar Medical and Dental Alumni Association of North America (AMDAANA) at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here from February 14. 

Experts from India and abroad, who are representatives of the government and international agencies, would be participating. Organising secretary Dr Tejbir Singh in a press statement issued yesterday said Punjab minister of research and medical education Tikshan Sood had given his consent to inaugurate the event. 

He said more than 25 speakers from India and abroad, most of them were alumni of Government Medical College, would deliver lectures on diverse issues, including cardiology, endocrinology, oncology, urinary, diabetes, etc. 

A special session on the National Rural Health Mission would also be held with the help of the Punjab ministry of health and family welfare, which would highlight the new challenges in the field of AIDS and HIV, strategies for polio eradication and implementation of national programme of non-communicable diseases. — TNS