L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

No compromise on quality of education

To the editorial “Redeem universities” (Jan 13), I would like to add that it is a shame that a country, which wants to improve the standards of higher education and intends to become a knowledge superpower, has found itself in such a mess.

In fact, the idea of deemed universities originated from a desire to accommodate certain university-level institutions that had been traditionally respected for their academic excellence, relevant to the nation’s requirements. Their contribution to the development of knowledge and values was significant but did not qualify to be universities under the framework that existed at the time of Independence.

It is the UGC, which is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining the standard of higher education in India. Since an educational institution acquires the status of a deemed university, only after meeting the standards set by the University Grants Commission, it failed to monitor the working of the deemed universities. Moreover, the deemed universities continued to enjoy its status without upgrading the infrastructure as per the requirement.

HARISH K. MONGA, Ferozepur City

Towards e-books The article “E-books threaten paper volumes, physically” (Jan 11) by Jean- Baptiste Piggin was timely and informative. The fact is that librarians all over the globe are facing the problems of finance, space, expectations of readers who want latest and exhaustive literature on all subjects. The e-books and e-journals have come to the rescue of the librarians to overcome all these problems. Let us appreciate the facility of e-libraries with millions of volumes on one’s desktop, augmented by the facility of hyperlinks. The availability of rare e-books is indeed a boon for researchers. Such a facility could never be thought of two decades ago. The fact is e-books are omnipresent and can’t be stolen nor damaged like paper books. Millions of e-books freely available on public domain can prove to be a treasure for any library, otherwise starved of funds. We have shifted from clay tablets and papyrus libraries of ancient times to present libraries. It will take sometime for shifting our loyalties from paper books to e-books. Dr V K ANAND, Librarian (retd), Panjab University, Chandigarh

Chandigarh’s interests

The editorial “ 'New' Chandigarh ” (Jan 13) was apt and well-argued. It echoed the concerns of most of the city residents who are against the Punjab government’s new but ill-conceived project.

However, since the local administration is being run mostly by bureaucrats from the neighbouring states, one cannot expect it “to be pro-active in safeguarding the city’s interests.” In fact the local administration has always been acting like a mute spectator while the governments of both Punjab and Haryana have continued to harm the city’s interests unabatedly.

BALVINDER, Chandigarh

Fighter aircraft

In the present age of advanced technology, the DRDO has to keep pace with modern requirements of our armed forces (editorial, “A delayed Tejas: Indigenous LCA is still a long way”, Jan 12). It took more than three decades to come out with a satisfactory model of the Arjun tank. The present fleet of fighter aircraft is aging and the replacement is urgently required.

With more delay in Tejas, aircraft will have to be imported making us dependent on foreign countries for technical support and repairs. Such purchases involve huge costs and extensive burden on the exchequer. Competent scientists should be employed in the DRDO who are capable of producing positive results in reasonable time. Targets must be met in a specified period to prevent cost escalation and deliver the supplies for effective operational performance by the armed forces.

SHARDA BHARGAV, Jalandhar

NAREGA’s scope

The editorial “Higher wages for rural poor” (Jan 8) was apt and rightly pointed out the problems being faced in the implementation of the scheme. Most of the government programmes like NAREGA appear good on paper but when in comes to execution most of them fail.

The hike in wages is likely to meet the requirements of the poor in the rural areas. Social audits with the involvement of NGOs would definitely ensure transparency in the implementation of the central project. The government should widen its scope by extending the employment guarantee from 100 to 200 days in a year.

ANJU D ANAND, Chambaghat, Solan

2G scam and after

For weeks we have been fed on a daily dose of headlines and aggressive TV anchors reminding us of the astronomical figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore as the loss to the exchequer resulting from the 2G scam.

Suddenly, one morning we wake up to the ministerial assertion that there was, in fact, no loss at all — somewhat like the man in this limerick:

Yesterday upon the stair/ I saw a man who wasn’t there./ He wasn’t there again today./ I wish he would go away!

We await his departure with bated breath.

I. S. CHADHA, former Ambassador and Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Chandigarh