Bathinda, November 12
To raise funds for government schools in the state, the Director General of School Education (DGSE) has decided that Rs 500 will be charged from each B Ed student undergoing training at the government schools.

During their one-year course, the B Ed students are supposed to undergo 40 days of training in teaching. During this period, they are supposed to teach at different government schools. The Director general of School Education has ordered that the students will be charged Rs 500 for every 40-day period.

The Rs 500 charged from the students will be deposited as school development fund and the principals of the respective schools will maintain the records in this regard.

Already the government schools are not charging any fees from the girl students and children belonging to the minority communities for the last two years, which leaves them with practically no funds to spare. In many cases, the old amalgamated funds, deposited in the bank accounts of the schools, are helping run the show.

"At least the funds collected can be used in one form or the other. At times, we do not even have enough money to pay for the power bills or for miscellaneous expenses," revealed one of the school's in-charge in Nathana block.

The DGSE has also imposed restrictions on holding teaching practices. Usually, most of the B Ed students used to undertake teaching practices in the months of November and December.

But from now onwards, no student will undergo training at government schools from December 16 to March 31. Sources said the B Ed colleges will now have to change their schedule for teaching practices.

During the teaching practice, only one B Ed student would be deputed under one teacher working in the school. In the wake of vacant posts, the B Ed student can be used to fill up the slot in the subject concerned.

"The B Ed students actually come as a breather for all of us in school. We are already overworked with non-academic work and having someone to share our burden is a big help," added another teacher in Talwandi Sabo area.

However, the teacher concerned should be present when the teaching practice student takes the class. "This directive can become problem as we already face shortage of staff and if one teacher starts monitoring a B Ed student, who will teach in that teacher's class," said another teacher.

For teaching practice, one teacher will be deputed as coordinator. Any B Ed student found violating the school discipline will not be able to continue training at any of the government schools.

The students will teach as per the monthly lesson plan of the school concerned and will have to show the lesson plan to the teachers before implementing it.

No change of periods, syllabus, examination schedule and time table has been allowed to adjust the B Ed students.

Bathinda, November 12
District Magistrate Kamal Kishore Yadav has allowed the sale of crackers at the Desraj Senior Secondary School near the old fort.

The DM has also issued guidelines regarding the sale of crackers. The roof of the shed, where the crackers will be kept, should be made of material that is not inflammable.

The material should be so hard that no unauthorised person can break through it and enter the shed. All the sheds should be at least 3 metres away from each other and no two sheds should face each other.

Bathinda, November 12
All roads in the city that led to its marketing hub, Dhobi Bazar and Mall Road, were choked on Divali eve with traders setting up extended counters at various places.

Traffic moved at a snail's pace on the Mall Road, Dhobi Bazaar, Mehna Chowk, bus stand, Power House Road, Ajit Road, GT Road, Amreek Singh Road, railway station road, Parasram Nagar, Multania Road, Haji Rattan Road and in other busy market areas following the sale of crackers and other material for the festival.

A visit to the market revealed that a large number of people turned up to buy Divali gifts, crackers and other related items. People failed to find space to move their vehicles on the road and lack of parking space lead to chaos.

Incidents of heated arguments and brawls were reported at Dhobi Bazar, near Gol Diggi, bus stand and railway station. However, police said no serious incident had come to their notice so far.

Policemen said they have advised people not to bring heavy vehicles or four-wheelers up to the Dhobi Bazaar and instead park their vehicles some distance away from the crowded area.

They said those visiting the markets have also been advised not to use four-wheelers and instead use two-wheelers or bicycles for travelling in the crowded areas.

Police have also warned the people, especially the youngsters, to behave while moving in the crowd and not to indulge in any activity that can cause panic or commotion in the crowded areas.

Police today beefed up security at various places in the city. A checking was conducted at the railway station and the bus stand and luggage of the passengers was frisked by the police.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel checked the luggage of the passengers. Vehicles and passengers roaming around the bus stand and the railway station too were checked by the police as a precautionary measure to avoid any criminal activity in the area.

The shopkeepers who had put up stalls near the railway station were told to get permission by the police.

Bathinda, November 12
Guru Gobind Singh College of Education, Talwandi Sabo, organized an extension lecture on "Innovative practices in the development of education in India."

The keynote speaker at the programme was Dr Kulwinder Singh, associate professor, from Punjabi University, Patiala.

In the first phase of the programme, senior functionaries of the institute presented a floral welcome to the chief guest.

After this, Dr AK Kansal, principal, GGS College of Education, delivered the welcome address.

In his lecture, Prof Kulwinder Singh discussed all the important aspect in education and cited examples to prove his point.

In the second phase of the programme, Dr Kulwinder Singh, Dr AK Kansal and Dr Narinder Singh conducted a workshop for the scholars to assist them in their research work.

In the last phase of the programme, SS Kaura, public relations officer of the university and a member of the innovative practices committee, along with the head of the committee, Dr Deependra Nath, delivered the vote of thanks.