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Ten questions repeated in biology paper
Chandigarh, May 22 Ten questions in set D of the biology paper, questions 26 to 35, were repeated and were exactly the same as questions 41 to 50. A total of 8,080 students appeared
The exam was held in the last session, from 3 pm to 4 pm, and the slip-up affected students with the combination of physics, chemistry and biology.
Responding to the situation, PU officials said the matter was not serious and the university had already worked out a solution to the problem. “The questions in all four sets were set by shuffling the question pool. It is not a serious error. We will evaluate 50 questions for such students so that everyone who has been affected is on a par,” said AK Bhandari, holding charge of PU Controller of Examination and
Registrar. However, anguished parentsof students who appeared in the CET today pointed out the seriousness of this printing error. They said justice would not be given to
students. “Had these students attempted 10 more questions, like other students who attempted sets A, B and C, of the biology exam, they would probably have fared better. Additionally, what if a student marked two different answers for a question that was repeated? Which 10 answers would the computer accept? Since the answers were on OMR sheets, some software changes would be needed to electronically evaluate these sheets. In an exam of national character like the CET, how could PU afford to make such a mistake,” said a parent on the condition of anonymity.
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4,000-kg poppy husk to be destroyed today
Chandigarh, May 22 The pollution-free destruction, as officials claim, will be the first of it's kind in the city as the NCB has never undertaken such a procedure here before. In the presence of NCB Regional Director AK Yadav, a subdivisional magistrate and an official of the customs department, bags containing 4,000 kg of poppy husk will be consigned to flames in the incinerator. Confirming the move, Yadav told The Tribune that this would be the first in a series of such destructions as more were slated in the coming months. He said the department had not destroyed any of the drugs seized by it since 1998 and would be doing so in the coming months. Yadav said while they would destroy only poppy husk this time, heroin and other drugs seized would be on the cards next time. He said the delay in destruction of contraband was due to the lengthy judicial process, in which drugs seized were to be retained as evidence. “We can only destroy the contraband seized after a court order,” he said. Meanwhile, sources said the court had so far given permission for the destruction of drugs in three cases, including the sensational seizure of 35 quintals of poppy husk near the airport roundabout. The seizure of 84 bags of the contraband, dubbed as one of the biggest hauls by the regional NCB office, was made while the consignment, originating from Indore, was being taken to Jalandhar. As per information available, Kullu and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh had widespread poppy cultivation and lot of smuggling had been taking place from there to Punjab and other parts of the country. In 2009, the NCB and other Central and state agencies, including the Border Security Force, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the customs department and the anti-narcotics cell, destroyed 754 acres of illicit poppy cultivation. One could imagine the extent of the menace. The same year, the quantity of drugs seized by police and other agencies included nearly 600 kg of heroin, 400 kg of hashish, 350 kg of marijuana, nearly 3,000 kg of opium and a whopping 373 tonnes of poppy husk. Interestingly, the US had placed India among the top 20 countries which were major drug-transit or drug-producing nations. Past year, US President Barack Obama had identified India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and 17 other countries as major drug-transit or major illicit drug-producing nations.
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Live action at cinema hall
Chandigarh, May 22 The show started half an hour behind the scheduled time of 5.45 pm. After the film started, the public pointed out that the show was not 3D and raised
slogans.
The police was called and a section of the audience was later refunded by the management. The venue also witnessed heated exchanges and a minor
scuffle.
Paras Singla of Kharar said, “We were taken for a ride by the cinema management. When the show started half an hour behind schedule, we were shocked to see that the movie looked the same with or without glasses. I had come with my friends to the city just to see the 3D effects and we felt cheated. We had an argument with the theatre managers, who refunded the ticket amount after a long
discussion.” Anurag Sharma, a cinema buff, said many like him had come to watch the Johnny Depp treat in 3D. The show was a big letdown, but the attitude of the cinema management was a bigger
letdown, he added. Sumer, another viewer, said, “We complained to the police, following which the show was stopped. We were told that a similar incident occurred yesterday and the show had to be stopped.” GS Brar, a manager, said, “The public outcry by a small section of the audience was unfounded. Our show went on normally after they were paid the refund.” “Actually, the audience did not know that the entire film was not in 3D. The special 3D effects are only in select portions. The unnecessary ruckus was created by a small group,” he added.
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Accused to get chance to defend themselves
Chandigarh, May 22
Though there is strong evidence against officials “directly” involved in the fraudulent allotment of booths in the Krishna Market in Sector 41, as alleged in the PS Shergill report, a “fair chance”, preferably through show-cause notices, would be given to those indicted.
Following complaints of irregularities in the allotment of the booths, the UT Administration had ordered a magisterial probe by Shergill in March 2010. “The financial dimensions run into crores that include money being paid to politicians, police officials and officials of the estate office. Several bogus surveys and inspections were done by the estate office, strengthening claims of illegal allottees,” the report alleged. The report had recommended initiation of criminal proceedings against DS Balouria, tehsildar (colonies), Jagbir Singh and Satbir Singh, DSPs, Bishi Ram, inspector (retd), Hira Lal and Sucha Singh, ASIs (retd), PL Dhami, superintendent (retd), Prem Sharma, superintendent (retd), Ashok Bish, superintendent (enforcement), RK Arora, Dharam Singh and Ranbir Singh Gill, besides recommending a CBI probe. The report even echoed in Parliament on March 14.
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Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary a ‘sambar’ haven
Chandigarh, May 22 The report of the first-ever census in this area has revealed that the average ‘sambar’ cluster size here is 4.7, which is being termed by experts as a very healthy sign for any
sanctuary. In most sanctuaries across the country, the average size of their cluster is just 3. According to the census report, which is yet to be made public, the population of ‘sambar’ in the sanctuary is about
1,000.
“The ‘sambar’ lives in clusters. If the average size of the cluster is big, it means that the population of the animal has been increasing and their mortality rate is less. It is a very good sign of any healthy forest cover,” say the
experts.
The population of the peacock, India’s national bird, is also very encouraging here. The findings have revealed that the sanctuary has around 950
peacocks. The sanctuary also has wild boars, spotted deer, stags, jackals, wild fowls, porcupines, snakes, ‘langoors’ and at least 65
species of birds. The three-day census was conducted from December 9 to 11 by the UT Forest and Wildlife Department in association with the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. Census enumerators comprised teams from the departments of botany and zoology of Panjab University, the People for Animals and the Avian Wetland Habitation Society, besides select students of St Kabir School. For the purpose, as many as eight groups of five members each, equipped with prismatic compass, binoculars and camera trap GPS, were formed. The groups, which went on eight different tracks, worked out different techniques, including line transect method for ungulates and other mammals and bird count using variable radius point count method. They also noted leopard and other carnivore presence on the basis of proof of fights and estimate of relative abundance of animals based on pellet and dung deposits.
Leopard guests Leopards are present in the sanctuary. Though the report does not mention the big cats, it has confirmed the presence of three or four leopards in the area. During the census, at least seven groups noticed leopard pugmarks on seven tracks. “During winter, leopards usually come here from the upper hills and go back in summer. This may be the reason behind not mentioning leopards as resident population in the report,” said an official of the UT Forest Department. Several residents of villages located around the sanctuary claimed that at least two leopards were living in the sanctuary.
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Over 200 take part in cultural extravaganza
Chandigarh, May 22 As many as 200 amateur student artistes in the junior category (9-16 years) participated in the preliminary auditions. “Mega nite of the event, which will be coinciding with the birthday celebrations of melody queen Lata Mangeshkar on September 28,2011, will comprise four talent sub-contests- “Voice of Chandigarh 2011”, “Dancer of Chandigarh-2011”, “the Great Laughter Champion-2011”, and “Cultural Olympiad for Special Children-2011,” said Rinku Kalia, an eminent vocalist and CEO of “Sur Wid Taal-2011”. Well-known music maestros Dr Simmi R Singh, Dr Murlidhar Soni, besides Rinku Kalia adjudged participants. Manmohan Garg, CEO of Gurukul Vidyapeeth, said educational scholarships worth Rs 10 lakh, cash prizes worth Rs 2.5 lakh and an opportunity to perform at the Bollywood mega nite would be provided to winners.
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Woman’s psyche explored
Chandigarh, May 22 The play was an exploration of a woman’s psyche and the inevitable split in her personality while tossing around her dormant love and friendship with another man. Striking a balance between romanticism and realism, the play also laid bare the sentimental nature of a dreamer but lonely person who found solace in transient relationship with protagonist Nastenka. Originally structured in the ambience of St Petersburg, the play had been subjected to aberrations in content and treatment to suit the Indian milieu by director KNS Sekhon, an alumnus of PU Indian Theatre. The sets and lighting were wonderfully designed and the script and dialogue had brilliance and drollery, but the actors faltered many times on diction to bring alive the richly varied emotions demanded in the story.
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Danger lurking in the middle of roads at Mohali
Mohali, May 22 “As the precariously edging-out grill split her abdomen open, with intestines protruding out, she had to be operated upon to be saved,” said Dr AS Cheema, medical director of Cheema Medical Complex, where she was operated upon. The slant mild steel railing could have also proved fatal for her, said the doctor. A visit to the spot revealed that the municipal corporation had not repaired the mild steel railing, apparently damaged by a speeding vehicle. Shopkeepers of the area revealed that many road users had been fortunate enough to escape with minor injuries at the same spot. On May 2, an unidentified person riding a two-wheeler, looking at the traffic signal, hit another slanting mild steel railing. Passersby immediately rushed to the rescue of the motorcyclist, who had to be given first-aid. At the same spot, four car-borne youths died last year when their Marti Zen car crashed into the mild steel railing close to the traffic signal. It had been over a year, but the municipal corporation was yet to repair the damaged railing. Despite claims by the municipal corporation of having given a facelift to the roads by putting reflectors and cat-eyes and painting driving lanes, death lurks on roads. There are a number of such spots across the town having leaning mild steel railings, with the departments concerned not having attended to broken streetlight poles on road medians for months. Following a survey, municipal corporation officials had been told about the accident-prone spot, said Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Sarabjit Singh. “It is the responsibility of the civic body to provide safe driving conditions to road users,” he said. It is not only broken and damaged steel railings; open junction boxes of streetlight poles with loose electricity wires also pose a grave danger to those trying to jump over railings. Two years ago, a Phase 4 resident was electrocuted when he came in contact with a live wire of a streetlight pole while trying to cross a road divider on the road separating Phase 4 and Industrial Area, Phase 6. The municipal corporation fails to learn a lesson and open junction boxes of the streetlight poles can be seen across the town. An MC official said electrical components in junction boxes were stolen frequently and the only solution was replacing those. At the Punjab Mandi Board Housing Complex junction in Sector 67, a streetlight pole damaged by a speeding vehicle has been lying on the road median. “Any vehicle can crash into the broken pole, which may prove fatal,” said Kuljeet Bedi, a former councillor. He pointed out that there were many such accident-prone locations, which needed immediate attention of the authorities. Officials with the Police Control Room attribute accidents which are never accounted for to broken railings. Neither the police, nor the municipal corporation has brought the issue on record.
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Villagers unite against UT admn
Chandigarh, May 22 At a rally under the aegis of the Pendu Sangharsh Committee, Chandigarh, representatives of various democratic institutions, including panchayats, panchyat samiiti and zila parishad, sent out a clear warning to the authorities concerned to concede to their “genuine” demands failing which they would be forced to launch an indefinite agitation. The tone for the rally was set by Gurpreet Singh Happy, president of the committee, who stated that the villages would stoutly oppose the demolitions of houses outside the “lal dora” and acquisition of land at throwaway prices. Coming down heavily on the administration for its “misplaced priorities” the speakers demanded that the rural areas should be developed at par with their urban counterparts. Gurdial Singh and Sadhu Singh, patrons of the committee, called upon the authorities to put an immediate stop the further land acquisitions in the villages. Opposing the proposal of the UT Administration to include the remaining UT villages into the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation, Devinder Lobana, Kishangarh sarpanch, demanded that panchayats should be retained in the Union Territory. Ramvir Bhatti, adviser, said the committee would go all out to get its longstanding demands fulfilled from the administration. Sarpanch of Khudda Ali Sher village Balwinder Sharma demanded reservation for UT village residents in all spheres of lives, including education and employment. General secretary of the committee Joginder Singh said the struggle for the rights of the villagers, which was started by residents of Khudda Ali Sher on April 17, 2011, had spread to all UT villages. No bureaucrat and politician could dare to ignore the genuine demands of the village residents, treasurer Inderjit Singh Grewal. Prominent among those, who spoke on the occasion included Jhujjar Singh Badheri, chairman of the market committee, and Bjajan Singh Kishangarh, chairman of the zila parishad.
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CHAWA launches its first chapter in city
Chandigarh, May 22 The association will also support the PGI faculty for research.Abhinav Bindra said pollution and diseases were shortening human life. A forum like CHAWA would go a long way in involving people and disseminating information on rare diseases. Prof Subash Verma, HoD, internal medicine, PGI, said along with wellness, it is very important to remember that the term good health includes mental, physical and social well being. Dr Aman Sharma, assistant professor, MAMS, PGI, said such organisations are needed to help create awareness and serve the people. He said: “At the PGI, we are committed to diagnose and treat people to the best of our ability and at times we find that some patients do need the support of organisations like CHAWA to assist them during emergencies.” Anup Kundra, ambassador, international liaison, International Health Racquet and Sports Club Association (IHRSA) & managing director of the Family Fitness 2000 Plus, said the company would support the association for its first project for health and wellness equipment worth Rs 1 crore. Family fitness 2000 Plus will also support the trainers visit from USA on a regular and periodic basis. CHAWA will be affiliated to IHRSA so that the association members can use 22,000 wellness facilities globally. JS Jatana, general secretary, CHAWA, proposed the vote of thanks. Jeev Milkha Singh, professional golfer, too, sent in a word of appreciation for the organisation and also promised to assist it.
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Health dept joins battle against bottle
Panchkula, May 22 As part of the 15th anniversary celebrations of the Samarpan Group of the AA, a worldwide fellowship of recovering alcoholics, a public information meeting was organised at the Community Centre, Sector 5, Mansa Devi Complex here today. Senior officials of the health department, including deputy director Deepika Gupta and Dr Rajeev Trehan, strongly recommended AA for chronic alcoholics. Besides, several councillors of the municipal council, Panchkula, and representatives of the Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs) and village sarpanches of Panchkula district attended the open public meeting. AA recovery meetings are held throughout the week in the tricity of Panchkula, Chandigarh and Mohali. The AA could be contacted on its helpline (94170-37358) or on its website aachandigarh.com. “The AA is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership,” the members added.
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Panchkula residents demand road construction
Panchkula, May 22 Krishan Kumar Goel, former president of the Welfare Association, while talking to the media said even though the government had approved Rs 87 lakh for the construction of the road in he last week of March, two months have lapsed but nothing has been done in this regard. He said the Municipal Council had thrice invited tenders for carrying out the job, but the construction work was not being allotted to any of the contractors. Another member of the association, Ravinder Pathak, said even local MLA DK Bansal had informed them recently that the road would be constructed with 15 days, but the project was yet to see the light of the day due to the half-hearted approach of the MC. Pathak said their sector was given a step-motherly treatment by the MC. The civic body had failed to make arrangement of streetlights, parking facility, construction of community centre, setting up of two public toilets in the market, sewerage facility, drainage, replacement of open wires by coated wires and to remove the unauthorised parking of private vehicles from the market in this sector, he added. Members of the association warned they would block the road again if the MC officials did not allot the road construction work to a contractor within the next 15 days.
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HUDA to set up ‘Shehari Vikas Sahayak’ cell Mohali: With a view to facilitate urban development by way of timely processing of statutory permissions and by actively carrying out improvements in procedures based on feedback from developers and public in general, the Housing and Urban Development Department has decided to set up a‘Shehari Vikas Sahayak’ cell at two levels, one at the Urban Development Authority level and the second at the level of the Punjab Chief Secretary. SS Sandhu, secretary, Housing and Urban Development, said the cell would be headed by the chief administrator. The cell will have staff with the right attitude and knowledge of all relevant acts, rules, regulations and procedures to guide applicants, attend to their queries, liaise with other departments and keep track of the applications for their timely disposal. The cell would regularly monitor the progress of all pending, ongoing and approved projects. All other departments associated with the clearance of urban development projects shall notify a nodal officer to attend the meeting of ‘Shehari Vikas Sahayak’ cell. 344 cases solved
Ambala: In an effort to reduce the backlog of cases, more than 563 cases were produced before lok adalat which was held in the court complex, Ambala City, yesterday. About 344 cases were settled. According to the District and Sessions Judge, compensation worth Rs 18.40 lakh was made available to road accident victims in 15 cases.
Low voltage
Kalka: Residents of Guga Mari Colony adjacent to Bharat Nagar, Kalka, which falls under Tagra Kali Ram village, Kalka, are irked over low voltage in the area these days. They alleged that the area had been facing inconvenience due to low-voltage for the past more than two months. They have brought the problem to the notice of UHBVN authorities, Kalka but repeated requests have fallen on deaf ears. They further alleged that due to low voltage, their electricity appliances were being damaged. They said that the department had decided to install a new transformer in Tagra Kali Ram village five years back to rectify the problem in the area, but the project was hanging fire due to the negligent attitude of the UHBVN. They said that the UHBVN had already replaced low-capacity transformers with the new ones in several areas of Kalka but had not taken any initiative to install the new transformer at Guga Mari Colony, till date. They have urged the higher authorities of UHBVN to take a serious note of the problem. —
Tribune Reporters
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Chandigarh scan
Renuka Salwan, chairman, PRCI, Chandigarh chapter, spoke on the role of communicators in percolating the benefits of growth evenly to all sections of society. She suggested that professional bodies like PRCI needed to work collectively with government corporates and NGOs. PRCI zonal chairman Charanjit Singh termed the communication professionals as change agents. LPG auto drivers convention
The convention unanimously decided to form a Bharatiya Janta Auto Mahasangh” and affiliated the same to Bharatiya Janata Mazdoor Mahasangh (trade union wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party). The convention was addressed by A Sawhney, national secretary, Bharatiya Janata Mazdoor Mahasangh, Hari Shankar Mishra, president, and Ajit Singh, general secretary of BJMM.
Bone density check-up
More than 100 visitors were examined at a bone density check-up camp organised by the Citizen Council for Human Rights and Anant Sahitya Sangeet Manch here on Sunday. Sushil Gupta, president of the council, said the patients examined during the camp were also provided medicines and more such camps would be organised in different parts of the city.
Blood donation camp
More than 100 volunteers donated blood at a camp organised by Sri Guru Ravidas Prachar Sabha here on Sunday. Mehak Singh and Sanjay, president and general secretary of the sabha, respectively said response to the camp had been very encouraging and more camps would be organised in the city.
Symposium
A symposium on Fungal infections was held at Fortis Hospital, Mohali, on Sunday, in which 60 doctors from the tricity participated. Organising secretary of the symposium was Dr A K Mandal, senior consultant pulmonology and critical care, Fortis, and scientific chairman was Prof Subhash Verma, head, department of internal medicine, PGIMER. Dr AK Mandal said, “Fungal infections are increasing largely because of indiscriminate use of antimicrobials.” Prof Arunaloke Chakrabarti dwelt on the “Changing Epidemiology for Invasive Fungal Infections”.
District Congress president honoured
Residents Welfare Associations and others cultural societies organised a function to honour Rajinder Rana, District Congress president, at a park in Phase II. Members of various associations like Army Flats Resident Association, along with Punjabi Virsa and Cultural Society and Malwa Cultural Social Welfare Association, participated in the event. MLA Balbir Sidhu was also present on the occasion.
Candle march
Hardeep Singh, member of the SGPC, took out a march against the alleged forcible acquisition of land of Amb Sahib Gurdwara in Phase VIII here. He said SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar was trying to part with actual land that had been donated to the gurdwara in different phases many years ago. Going by revenue record of the gurdwara, the total land allotted to the gurdwara in Phases VIII, IX and X stood at 13.97 acres. He said, “ We will not allow the government to take away the land.”
More than 300 patients today attended a free pain check-up camp organised by the Institute of Reproduction and Child Care on its premises in Sector 17. Dr SS Nain, one of the few pain specialists in India, examined patients during the camp. The aim to organise the camp was to spread awareness among patients about acute pain and chronic pain. Dr Nain revealed that one of the difficulties in treating pain was in distinguishing between acute pain and chronic pain. “In acute pain, there is an identifiable injury (or illness), an appropriate treatment and a satisfactory resolution usually within days or weeks. In chronic pain (or illness), the cause behind the pain (or symptom) is less clear, identifying appropriate therapy is difficult, and there is no solution to the case.” Usha Bishnoi, former director, health services (Haryana), said efforts were on to arrange camps for general public and CMEs for general practitioners, medical consultants and other related specialities by the IRCC. —
TNS
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Deadline over, Panjab University results not out yet
Chandigarh, May 22 The information was also uploaded on the university website, along with the datesheet for various courses. Incidentally, exams for several PU departments are either in progress or got over last week only. According to university officials, results for nearly nine undergraduate courses, including BCom are likely to be released by next week. “The perception that PU is short of evaluators this time is not correct. The tentative date for declaration of results, which is given while releasing the datesheet was a bit, too, early for us. We will soon be declaring the results for certain courses and by next week results of BCom, BBA, BCA will be out,” said AK Bhandari, PU Controller of Examination and Registrar. University employees also added that the tentative deadline set up by the university’s examination branch was “over ambitions” to fulfil.
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Finally, PU smart classes to kick off soon
Chandigarh, May 22 The proposal mooted by the university to have common smart classrooms for all departments functioning in single building is now on the verge of implementation. PU buildings have been divided into various blocks and each block will have its own smart classrooms and the departments in that block will these smart classes. Along with this proposal, another scheme proposed by the university is to have spacious common libraries for these blocks. Students will be permitted to study in these libraries even during exam time and the burden on AC Joshi library will be reduced. These libraries and common reading room space will be open to students of all departments within that building. “The proposal is already at the stage of implementation and soon smart classes will come up. The financial aspects are being looked into and within a month the project should be executed. University will now have common smart classes for a single building or a block and departments will be required to share the space,” said AK Bhandari, PU Controller of Examination and Registrar. In the past, student leaders have even been assuring PU students of introduction of smart classrooms from 2010-11. The students’ organisations have also been demanding an increase in the sitting space in the main library or finding an alternative.
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High time to check mushrooming of medical, engineering colleges In an endeavour to weed out corruption in the education system, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should conduct raids across the country. There is something fishy in the uncontrolled mushrooming of diverse engineering, medical, management and other professional colleges across the country. The point is if the government can show the will to sack these corrupt universities/colleges? Considering the government’s past record, we can predict that these corrupt officials will resume their duties in some time, because our system does not allow a proper cleansing. We already have a high-power body in the University Grants Commission (UGC), which does have the responsibility to maintain high standards of admission as well as ethics. If UGC couldn’t ensure maintenance of standards and ethics, it will be too much to expect a self-check by these institutes. We have three options- retain the existing system and take action against defaulters that take money; install a new regulatory body and expect it to discipline all colleges (approximately 20,000); and work out a new self-regulatory system on the basis of public-private partnership if Central government, Ministry of Human Resource Development and State government don’t work collectively, to curb student exploitation. — Sachin Sharma ChandigarhNo practical knowledge
The new colleges around city’s periphery are churning out engineers with zero comprehension of basic concepts and virtually no practical knowledge about their degrees. Quality education has taken a backseat in these so-called educational institutions giving false promises and charging exorbitant fees. False claims are being made about placements. I believe that the government needs to provide license only to those colleges fulfilling the imperative requisites of proper staff and infrastructure. We don’t have dearth of educational institutions in the city and its suburbs, so why allow new ones to take away the already limited land we have for agriculture. We need to check on account of the available avenues and the need for new ones before granting permissions. — Kimmi Vaneet Kaur Students taken for a ride
It has been rightly brought to the fore the lacunae pervading in colleges that have sprung up in the periphery of the city. These colleges came into being around 2005 with an aim to cater to the demand of growing need for qualified technical personnel in different streams. They made tall claims that their faculty includes dedicated intellectuals and that the colleges have top-class infrastructure for labs, workshops equipped with latest equipment and modern software besides clean and green ambiance was also promised. The fact is that the gullible students are being taken for a ride. Hefty fees, poor faculties, false claims on placements, huge fee disparities, absolutely no counselling have been the order of the day, While tall claims are being made by these colleges, but they are being rubbished by prominent educationists. Dr SP Singh, former Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, on record said the AICTE rules were being flouted. “There is a paucity of PhD teachers and incompetent persons take advantage of this shortage. In private institutes, money plays a big role and with no regulatory or controlling authority, it is open to all,” Dr Singh claimed. — Satish Chandra Appoint qualified teachers
There has been an abrupt mushrooming of professional colleges, especially engineering and business administration in and around the city. These institutions are profit-making business units and none of them serve a social cause. Another fact is that majority of these private colleges don’t have qualified teachers framed under AICTE/UGC. Such faculty is appointed that does not manage to find any space for itself in the corporate sector. Generally these teachers agree to work on meager salaries to get PhD degree subsequently from other fake universities. Under these extenuating circumstances, it becomes a difficult proposition to expect teachers to undertake quality teaching even for the sake of their own career advancement. Need of the hour is to appoint teachers, who are capable of facing the challenges of global competition. — SK Khosla Money business
There is no surprise to note that new educational institutes are mushrooming around the City Beautiful only to earn money and not to impart quality education. Once a needy student who doesn't find place in any recognised university or college comes to these institutes, he is peeled like a banana in monetary terms. Huge amounts are taken from him in the name of higher education. But actually, no responsible teaching is imparted to students. Cheap language with faulty pronunciations is what is delivered to the students in the name of “quality” education. It is cheating students instead of teaching them. The fate of such students is zero after they pass out from these institutes. The teachers are not qualified to deliver the right kind of education. Part time teachers are engaged at much lower salaries. No educational norms are followed. There should be a check on their activities by the UT education department. All such bogus universities and institutes should be shut. — RK Kapoor Poor quality of education
Mushrooming of engineering and management institutions, particularly in the periphery of the city, is home to a substandard education quality. Even education has been turned into an industry supported with rosy advertisements. A glossy scheme is floated and ways are worked out to extract as much as possible from parents. Institutions work only on papers, infrastructure is shown on papers, admissions are done without verification and without checking competency of the faculty. One day the drama is exposed, inquiries conducted, guilty named only to be left scott free later. The show continues uninterrupted. The Tribune endeavour in exposing a scam is appreciable. — SK Aggarwal
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From Schools
Healthy diet and salad-making contest was held at St Soldier International School, Sector 28. Rattan Chand and Guransh were adjudged best in salad-making. Inter-class speech contest was also held for classes VII and VIII on “How to fight obesity” and “Importance of healthy diet.” Isha Chaudhary and Pooja Vashist secured first positions in their respective classes in the speech contest. Ashutosh was adjudged best student in mental maths event. Awareness programme
A health awareness programme for students of Class VI was organised at MDAV School, Sector 22. Vice-principal Neelam Sharma delivered a talk on “How to stay healthy”. The aim was to inform students about disadvantages of excessive use of Internet and television. Handwriting contest A handwriting contest was organised at Green Castle Public School, Sector 47, from classes I to V. Group A included classes I and II and Group B included classes III, IV and V. The school also organised a splash pool session giving relief to children from hot summer. Students’ visit The staff and students of eco club, NSS and health club of Chandigarh Baptist School, Sector 45, visited Mother Teresa Home, Sector 23. In another achievement, Alka S Yadav and Jasmine Kaur Narula of the school stood first and third, respectively, in a word building contest organised by British Library, Chandigrah. Meanwhile, English faculty members at Sharda Sarvhitkari Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 40, organised a visit of Class XII to the Regional Institute of English, Sector 32, Chandigarh. The students were taught various components of the language, along with pronunciation in an easy and animated way. Through various games their conversational skills were improved. Students were made to record their own voices and later heard on the head phones. Parents week “Mat-Pita-Santan Week” (Parents Week) was celebrated at I.S. Dev Samaj School, Sector 21. Students showed gratitude towards their parents by way of card-making, slogan-writing, by expressing their views verbally and in written. Principal, staff members and students donated Rs 71,000 to the Sahayta Charitable Welfare Society for cancer patients. Book week A book week was celebrated at Stepping Stones Senior Secondary School, Sector 37 and 38, Chandigarh. Principal Anu Kumar interacted with students on “Gaining Knowledge in the 21st Century.” Kumar laid stress on diminishing significance of book reading in this era of e-learning. Workshop Students of Ryan International School, Sector 49, attended a workshop on time management. They were told to manage their time in such a way that they get enough time for both studies and sports. Havan performed To pay reverence to mother earth, a havan was performed at MRA Modern Public School, Sector 7, Panchkula. Members of the school eco club, students of classes IX and X and girl guides attended the havan. Principal Dr U Kapatia told students about the importance of the day and the need to keep the planet clean and green. Science week Science week was celebrated at Satluj Public School, Sector 4, Panchkula. A total of 200 students went to Pushpa Gujral Science City accompanied by 20 teachers. Participants took a pledge to save energy, save environment and save earth. Nominated A special assembly was held at AKSIPS-41 today to introduce and induct the new student council of AKSIPS-41. Teachers nominated the students, who were best suited for the posts. Guntas Padda and Manmeet Kaur of Class XII were nominated as head boy and head girl, Gaurav Mehta and Aarusha as deputy head boy and deputy head girl, respectively and Pritam as head of cultural activities. — TNS
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Dr KK Khandelwal, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister of Haryana, has been given the Chanakya Award 2011 for good governance and public administration by the Chandigarh chapter of Public Relations Society of India(PRCI). Dr Khandelwal laid emphasis on quick and consistent approach with team work and good strategy based on core competency.
On Sunday, a convention of LPG auto drivers and owners was held at the BJP headquarters, Kamlam, Sector 33, which was inaugurated by Sanjay Tandon, state president, Bharatiya Janata Party. 