B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Exam next month, school students yet to get books
Faridkot, April 19
Students of classes VI and VII in government elementary schools and classes I to X in three Adarsh schools in the district are forced to spend the first three weeks of their academic year without text books.

MLA accuses dist admn of working at Akalis’ behest
Muktsar, April 19
Congress MLA from Gidderbaha Amarinder Singh “Raja’ Warring alleged that the district administration was working at the behest of the ruling Akalis and not providing him the information required urgently to announce his party’s candidates for zila parishad and block samiti elections.

480-bed cancer hospital comes up in Moga village
Daudhar (Moga), April 19
The Roko Cancer, a UK-based international charitable trust, has opened a 480-bed cancer hospital with the help of a local religious and educational organisation at Daudhar village in Moga district today.

Exam next month, school students yet to get books
Balwant Garg/TNS

Faridkot, April 19
Students of classes VI and VII in government elementary schools and classes I to X in three Adarsh schools in the district are forced to spend the first three weeks of their academic year without text books.

The students in the government elementary schools have to appear in an examination, mandatory every two month under the Right to Education Act to evaluate the students’ progress, in May.

The books are provided free of cost to all the students in government elementary schools and Adarsh schools.

The reason for non-availability of books for elementary school students is that the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) is lagging behind in getting the text books printed.

Students of the three Adarsh schools have not got the books as the managements of the schools, operating under a Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) mode, have surrendered these schools.

In Adarsh schools, a project of the state government which was launched two years ago, while the students are without books, teachers have not got their salaries for the last four months after the school managements surrendered the schools.

For Adarsh schools, the state government pays for 70 per cent of the monthly expenses while the school management contributes the remaining 30 per cent.

Thrity nine teachers and two clerical staff members in the Adarsh School Middumann in Faridkot have not been paid after December 2012.

Even for the period from April to December 2012, these teachers had got only 70 per cent of their salaries, which is the government's share . The management has yet to pay its share of 30 per cent.

Similar is the fate of teaching and non-teaching staff in the Adarsh schools at Pacca and Mallan. In Mallan, the teachers were last paid in September2012.

Teachers of Middumann and Pacca schools met the Deputy Commissioner and Faridkot MLA this week asking them to raise the matter with the state government.

“I have raised the matter with the Director General School Education (DGSE) and I am hopeful of new managements taking control of the Adarsh Schools," said Faridkot MLA Deep Malhotra. After the Balaji Educational Trust surrendered the Adarsh Senior Secondary School in Mallan village on April 12, the Educomp Solutions Ltd has taken over the control of this school, said the MLA.

MLA accuses dist admn of working at Akalis’ behest

Muktsar, April 19
Congress MLA from Gidderbaha Amarinder Singh “Raja’ Warring alleged that the district administration was working at the behest of the ruling Akalis and not providing him the information required urgently to announce his party’s candidates for zila parishad and block samiti elections.

“The zila parishad and block samiti elections have been announced to be held on May 12 and the process of filing nominations of candidates will start on April 26 and last till April 28. But the district officials are not providing me the voters' list and information about the villages (reserve and general) falling in my constituency,” alleged Raja.

He claimed, “I spoke to the Block Development Officer at Gidderbaha and the ADC (D) Muktsar, but the both refused to give me the information.”

Muktsar ADC (D) Rambir Singh said, “Last evening, we received an advance notification with regard to the zila parishad and block samiti polls. According to it, the nomination filing process will begin on April 26 and elections will be held on May 12. However, we have not yet got the status report of villages which have been kept reserved or general.” He said, “The information will be provided once we get it. The voters list has been provided to the MLA." However, Raja claimed that he did not get the list and alleged that the situation was akin in other assembly constituencies. — TNS

480-bed cancer hospital comes up in Moga village

Daudhar (Moga), April 19
The Roko Cancer, a UK-based international charitable trust, has opened a 480-bed cancer hospital with the help of a local religious and educational organisation at Daudhar village in Moga district today.

Justice Surinder Singh Nijjar of the Supreme Court inaugurated the hospital this morning. He was accompanied by Justice MMS Bedi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal, the global ambassador of the Roko Cancer.

Kulwant Dhaliwal said in the first phase, the Roko Cancer would provide detection and treatment facilities for breast cancer, cervix cancer and prostate cancer for which the required machinery has been made available and surgeons have been deputed. “We have also opened an awareness centre besides a research centre to know the genetic links of cancer in a family, particularly the younger generation," he said. — TNS