The Tribune staffer Divya Semwal talks to AJ George, principal ,St Joseph’s Academy, Dehradun, on the importance of Teacher’s Day as well as his future plans to maintain the academic standards of his school known for outstanding results.

Q. You joined two months back as principal. Tell us about your experience in the field of education.

A I have been associated with education since 1980. And as I wanted to work for social causes, I joined the Patrician Fathers’ Society, which started in Ireland in 1808 with the sole motive of educating the youth to eradicate social ills. Prior to joining as principal of here, I have served as head of various schools in Kerala and Mussoorie

Q. St Joseph is known as one of the best ICSE schools in the city. How do you compete with other schools?

A Since this school runs on the parameters set by the Christian Mission, our endeavour is to encourage students to enroll themselves in social work so that they imbibe the qualities of compassion, humility and universal brotherhood.

I feel it’s imperative to balance studies with extra-curricular activities for overall development of students. I am always enthusiastic about organising inter-school debates and games

Q. How do you help teachers to bring the best in their pupils?

A We strongly believe that teachers hold a big responsibility in moulding the personality of pupils. In the beginning of the session, we hold a two-day orientation programme for teachers which mainly comprises seminars on the latest teaching methodologies. Also, we encourage new ideas and emphasise on continous communication

Q. On this Teacher’s Day, tell us what inspires you to be an active member of the teaching fraternity as well your reasons for leading a humble life

A To live upto the expectations of students and parents is a big challenge for any teacher. As teachers play a crucial role in channelising the aspirations and energies of students in the right direction, they should remember that any wrong intention or misdoing can spoil the future of our children.

A I wanted to do my bit towards uplifting society, I joined this noble profession

Q. What are your future plans for the school?

A I do feel the burden of studies in present times. Every student wants to score above 90 per cent. This is forcing them to skip fun associated with student life. No play and all work can make jack a dull boy.

So, I am looking forward to motivating mystudents to actively participate in extra-curricular activities. We are soon to renovate ourcanteen and build a garden for the primary section. 

India has a rich guru-shishya tradition. The role of teachers has remained the same over centuries, to produce intelligent citizens to lead the country to new heights of glory. On Teacher’s Day eve, The Tribune spoke to both educationists and students on what the day means to them.

A teacher is a role model for students who looks towards her for  inspiration, motivation and knowledge. It is one of the most noble professions as it brings us closer to the human heart — Renu Sareen, English teacher Now with good salaries awarded by the Sixth Pay Commission, more and more women are opting for the teaching profession to manage home and a career both. It is one of the best professions to be in — Neha, school student The reason why I joined this profession was my love for children. I have put in nine years of service and I take great pride in being part of a profession that inspires even teachers to update knowledge — Reema Sehgal, maths teacher Fifteen years ago, I decided to contribute to this field by building a school to be able to provide the best facilities to students. After such a good response from parents and teachers, I feel I was right to do so — R Bhatta, Kasiga International School I aspire to become a teacher. The teachers play a pivotal role in nation-building. They deal with young, impressionable minds and should be extra cautious as they can break or make careers — Shikha, college student

Haridwar, September 4
On the eve of Teacher’s Day, city students were seen thronging gift shops, specially looking for greeting cards for teachers.

Said Archies Card Gallery floor manager: “Teacher’s Day cards are in much demand with students opting for large ones, besides pens and diaries, mugs and note pads. Florists too were a busy lot, taking orders for roses and carnations. Raju at Ranipur Mod said his shop had received hundreds of enquiries on the flowere available.Though school students showed much enthusiasm, college students abuzz with student elections, did not.

“ I will pluck flowers from my house garden early morning and present a bunch to my mathematics teacher,” said an excited Sanjana Verma of Class IX, DPS. 

Dehradun, September 4
Key programmes that hold much promise to transform Dehradun into a modern city as envisaged in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission programme (JNNURM) remain tangled in red tape.

The Basic Service for the Urban Poor (BSUP) and Solid Waste Management programmes are yet to be delivered. The BSUP project gathered steam in 2007 after a MoU was signed between the state government and the Government of India, two years after the project had been unveiled by the UPA government.

Despite a detailed project report, no work has been begun at the ground. Critics say the report for the BSUP was completed in a hurry and relevant provisions of the Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) scheme were given a short shrift.

“The housing project has to be implemented by the MC. Our role has only been in preparating the reports for the two projects.

We have given the best options to the MC,” said Rajeev Pandey, project officer, BSUP, Urban Development Directorate.

Till date the MC has not established a cell to oversee the projects. Besides, the sites earmarked for building houses are occupied by encroachers. Drives have been repeatedly launched to vacate the land. Under the BSUP plan, Kaath Bungalow, a slum area that came into existence 20-25 years at Rajpur, has been selected. The sanctioned cost for the project is Rs 6.22 crore. The Centre has released the first installment totalling Rs 1.55 crore. Under the scheme, 148 houses are proposed to be built.

There was problem pertaining to 15 houses.

For the Solid Waste Management Project for the city, a sum of Rs 24 crore was sanctioned in June 2008 and thereafter the first installment of Rs 15 crore released,

Since then, the project has not moved an inch.

Despite stress on reforms in urban bodies and on the right institutional structure as envisioned in the JNNURM, the main implementing agency, the Dehradun MC, has not been able to meet any of these conditions. “Private companies that will implement the schemes are yet to be finalised. We have called them through RFQ (Request for Qualification). A decision will be taken soon,” said Zaira, sanitary officer, MC.

It seems the delay by the implementing agencies has not been taken kindly by the central government. A dustbin-free area between Karanpur and Clock tower, covering an area of more than a kilometre is planned under the Solid Waste Management Programme.

“The thickly populated area that comprises residential houses, vegetable and fruit markets covering 15 wards will have the services of rickshaws and trucks for the collection of garbage. Besides, household waste will be collected door to door,” said chief sanitary officer B Jayara.

The consumers would have to pay for the door-to-door services. Those falling in the BPL category would have to pay Rs 10 per month.

A sum of Rs 20 per month would be collected from houses that fall in the middle income group and Rs 30 per month from upper middle income groups.

On the other hand, Rs 100 per month would be collected from business establishments, Rs 200 per month from restaurants and Rs 500 from hotels.

The waste collected after passing through several stages would then be disposed (in compost form) at the landfill site at Shesham bara (Selaqui). The city produces 257 metric tonnes of waste everyday exceeding the actual capability of 105 metric tonnes. The waste mounds in every nook and corner are collected manually by sanitary workers.

The Solid Waste Management Programme is expected to address many of these problems.

Sources say frequent transfers of CEOs has left the MC rudderless. Lack of coordination between the state and central government representatives too is cited as one of the reasons for the lack of action on the proposed plan that envisages involvement of private companies for the collection, segregation, storage, transfer, processing and disposal of waste. 

Dehradun, September 4
The residents and shopkeepers of Gandhi Road are complaining over the mobile phone towers installed in their locality, which are according to them causing nuisance to the residents.

The residents alleged that these towers were generating hazardous electromagnetic radiations and sound pollution with a very heavy generator.

The residents have written a letter to the authorities concerned, including the Chief Minister in this regard. They expressed that the according to the Supreme Court’s directions no towers can be installed at such densely populated area.

According to section 133 of CrPC they sought the removal of the towers and the generator.

Meanwhile, the owner of the premises, Abhinandan Jain, said that he had installed the towers with prior permission and according to the norms. “Some of the persons complained to me about the generator but I don’t think so it would be a problem as we keep it switched off most of the time,” he said. 

The e-commerce, particularly the online shopping, is registering phenomenal growth world over, but given the lack of ability to inspect merchandise before purchase, online consumers seem to be at higher risk of fraud than a consumer in a physical store. Merchants also risk fraudulent purchases using stolen credit cards or fraudulent repudiation of the online purchase. With a warehouse instead of a retail storefront, merchants face less risk from physical theft.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption has generally solved the problem of credit card numbers being intercepted in transit between the consumer and the merchant. Identity theft is still a concern for consumers when hackers break into a merchant's web site and steal names, addresses and credit card numbers. Computer security has thus become a major concern for merchants and e-commerce service providers, who deploy countermeasures such as firewells and anti-virus software to protect their networks.

Phishing is another danger, where consumers are fooled into thinking they are dealing with a reputable retailer, while they have actually been manipulated into feeding private information to a system operated by a malicious party. Denial of service attacks are a minor risk for merchants, as are server and network outages.

Quality seals can be placed on the Shop web page if it has undergone an independent assessment and meets all requirements of the company issuing the seal. The purpose of these seals is to increase the confidence of the online shoppers; the existence of many different seals, or seals unfamiliar to consumers, may foil this effort to a certain extent.

A number of resources offer advice on how consumers can protect themselves when using online retailer services. These include:

l Sticking with known stores, or attempting to find independent consumer reviews of their experiences; also ensuring that there is comprehensive contact information on the website before using the service, and noting if the retailer has enrolled in industry oversight programs such as trust mark or trust seal.

l Before buying from a new company, evaluate the website by considering issues such as: the professionalism and user-friendliness of the site; whether or not the company lists a telephone number and/or street address along with e-contact information; whether a fair and reasonable refund and return policy is clearly stated; and whether there are hidden price inflators, such as excessive shipping and handling charges.

l Ensuring that the retailer has an acceptable privacy policy posted. For example note if the retailer does not explicitly state that it will not share private information with others without consent.

l Ensuring that the vendor address is protected with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) when entering credit card information. If it does the address on the credit card information entry screen will start with "HTTPS".

l Using strong passwords, without personal information. Another option is a "pass phrase," which might be something along the lines: "I shop 4 good a buy!!" These are difficult to hack, and provides a variety of upper, lower, and special characters and could be site specific and easy to remember.

Another difficult area to deal with in online shopping is the delivery of the products. Most companies offer shipping insurance in case the product is lost or damaged; however, if the buyer opts not to purchase insurance on their products, they are generally out of luck. Some shipping companies will offer refunds or compensation for the damage, but it is up to their discretion if this will happen.

It is important to realise that once the product leaves the hands of the seller, they have no responsibility (provided the product is what the buyer ordered and is in the specified condition).

The writer is an editor with Instablogs.com (anilm@instablogs.com)