Jalandhar, September 5
On the occasion of the Teachers’ Day today, members of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union protested outside the campus of DAV College here.

Government college teachers stage a protest on Teacher’s Day in front of DAV College in Jalandhar on Friday. A Tribune Photograph

Dr Vinat Sofat, area secretary, Guru Nanak Dev University, presided over the event. He said teachers were upset over the delay in release of grants and cuts in the aid to the colleges. He added that the members were fighting for the interest of education and future of the country. He said the education, however, did not seem to be on the agenda of the Punjab government.

Professor VK Sareen said many students were not pursuing higher education since their parents could not afford the cost of their studies owing to anti-education policies of the government. He lambasted the government for withdrawing the security of service to unaided teachers. He said that this showed that the state government was not serious about education sector at all.

Dr Jasbir Rishi, State Women Wing Convener, criticised the state government for doing injustice to the DPEs and librarians. Dr Navjot Kaur criticised the government for not relaxing the date of refresher courses as per the UGC directives.

Dr Tejinder Virli said the government had not released grant for the last 16 months causing great hardship to the colleges and salaries and not been paid for months. He said that the PM’s address to the teachers and students today would not satisfy the unpaid teachers. He called for filling up of vacant posts of the teachers.

Jalandhar, September 5
Teacher’s Day was celebrated by the Students Welfare Association (SWA) of Apeejay College of Fine Arts. Students welcomed teachers with tilak and greeting cards. A group song was presented by Akhil, Bennett, Jagjeet, Ajaybir and Jagdeep. 

Lilting melodies were rendered by the band of Shubhambir, Aashim Arora, Nischey and Tushar. Akanksha Bedi, vice head girl, thanked the teachers for making the grand occasion a success. Principal Dr Sucharita lauded the role of teachers in building the future of students. — TNS

Jalandhar, September 5
A factory owner who failed to submit records regarding his employees to the Regional Employees Provident Fund Office (REPFO) was recently convicted by the District Courts with a two-day rigorous imprisonment (RI) along with a fine.

The factory owner was, however, relieved from the punishment after he pleaded guilty before the court.

Dheeraj Gupta, Regional PF Commissioner, Jalandhar, while confirming this, said such sorts of convictions were very rare and this recent conviction would serve as a deterrent to other industrialists or factory owners who were not adhering to the directions regarding the provident fund.

“We had recently initiated prosecution against Jagesh Kumar, owner of a feed factory in Phagwara, as the owner was not providing records about his employees. Despite the repeated visit of the EPFO officials to his business premises, the factory owner refused to provide the records” Gupta said, adding that the EPFO was seeking records to check if the owner was extending the benefit of the provident fund to his employees.

The owner of a business unit was required to comply with all provisions of the EPF & MP Act, 1952, and the schemes framed thereunder. Under Para 42(c) of the Employees Deposit Linked Insurance, 1976, an owner was also required to produce all the relevant records for inspection/verification by the Inspector as and when called, Gupta said, adding that the accused owner was called many times to produce the records of the said establishment for the period w.e.f August 1983 to May 2013, but he didn’t submit the records, hence violating the statutory duty and committed the offence punishable under Section 14(2) of the Employees Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

The EPF Commissioner said the department had already started prosecution in some cases in which business units owners were not adhering to the provident fund norms. “I expect this judgment to serve as a deterrent to other employers, who do not follow the directions regarding employees provident fund with the vice motive not to extend the benefit of the PF to his employees.aGupta said as per the law whosoever commits the same offence again shall be subject to imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, but which shall not be less than two years with a fine of Rs 25,000.

Jalandhar, September 5
Even after over four weeks of the death of a four-year-old schoolboy Aarush Arora, whose life was snuffed out due to the alleged negligence of the school bus driver, his father Chandan Arora is being made to run from pillar to post by the officials concerned.

What to talk of action against the school management, inquiry is being shifted from one official to another, alleged Chandan Arora.

ACP (Central) DD Sharma, who has reportedly been inquiring the issue for weeks, today shifted the inquiry to ACP, Model Town, citing it was not in his jurisdiction. “The school falls under the jurisdiction of the ACP, Model Town, and so he is conducting the inquiry into the same,” he said. When he was told that he had been conducting the inquiry for weeks into the school bus mishap he, instead of replying to the query, disconnected the phone. It has been around over a month when Aarush had died in the bus mishap.

“Today I met ACP DD Sharma, who had been looking into the case for weeks to know the status of the case. He told me to meet the SHO, Model Town, as he had told him to register a case against the school. When I reached the Model Town police station, a police official refused to register my complaint, saying it was not under their jurisdiction and I should go to the Police Division No. 7 to register the complaint,” the bereaved father alleged.

“When I went to file a complaint at Police Division 7, the SHO said he could not register a case until seniors told him to do so. The SHO said the ACP should write to me to register a case, only then I can register a case against the school,” Chandan said. Then he again I returned to meet the ACP DD Sharma, who changed his earlier stand and said, he had referred the case to the ACP, Model Town, and kept further correspondence with him only. He said every time he met ACP Sharma, he was found making hollow promises only.

DD Sharma, when contacted, said he was not conducting the inquiry. Talk to ACP, Model Town, as he was now conducting the inquiry.

Jalandhar, September 5
On the occasion of Teacher’s Day celebrations at Government High School Dakoha, MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary inaugurated a science laboratory built and donated by the family of NRI and ex-sarpanch Ajit Singh Bhatia.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that life is a constant learning process right from the beginning. From the mother’s lap who happens to be the first teacher, a child is shaped and architected into great leaders, engineers, doctors, philosophers and scientists by their ‘Guru’, their teachers in every phase of learning, he added. He emphasised that ‘Teacher’s Day’ is meant to eulogise the contribution of the educators who thus shape societies and nurture young minds.

The Member of Parliament laid stress on discipline in students’ life, especially in the modern days when it is hard to sustain in this competitive world. The teacher should be on constant watch regarding the activities of the students not only in the class room but also outside the campus so as to guard them from falling into the trap of drugs or indulging in criminal activities and also curb ragging, which is the biggest menace these days and which has brought down the standard of the pious atmosphere of the educational institutions all over to its lowest ebb.

Talking about the lack of infrastructure and basic facilities in schools particularly the government schools, Chaudhary said he was committed to help the schools which do not have proper toilets both for girls and boys and safe drinking water. He said he would be requesting the HRD Ministry to speed up its efforts in this regard. It is an utmost need to ensure security to children in schools and also ensure quality and affordable education for all. He announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh from his MPLADS fund for the school building. Prominent among present were Rajinder Beri, President DCC Urban, Mandeep Jassal, MC Dakoha, Jagdish Gagg, ex-MC Vijay Dakoha and Principal Karnail Singh Sidhu, teachers Nisha Bhatia, Manohar Lal and Rishikesh Verma. 

Jalandhar, September 5
The BSF Punjab Frontier under the guidance of Ashok Kumar, Inspector General, BSF, has chalked out a comprehensive plan to generate Public awareness about itself, which is the ‘first line of defence’ and premier border guarding force of the country.

As a first step in this direction, interactive sessions and other activities will be organized in educational institutions based in Jalandhar to generate awareness about the BSF.

Under this awareness drive, the sequence of activities, including display of photographs on flex boards depicting activities of BSF personnel, display of photo gallery, archives, photographs (present context), demonstration drill of various weapons by BSF Jawans including Mahila Constable, slide show of BSF activities on TV Screen/BSF Documentary, open house interactive session with students/staff by IGl BSF Punjab Frontier and other Officers, will be held. —TNS

Jalandhar, September 5
Heavy rain threw life out of gear in various parts of the city. While main roads witnessed prolonged traffic jams due to damaged roads, the roads in the colonies remained jammed due to heavy congestion of traffic and waterlogging. Although, most of the commuters faced difficulty to commute due to heavy mist on city roads after the heavy rain, school students, who were on their way to school to listen to the PM Narendra Modi’s speech, were the worst hit.

With city receiving 33.9 mm rainfall on Friday, traffic jams were reported from Rama Mandi flyover, PAP Chowk, Chaugitti, Mai Heera Gate, Phagwara Gate and Kapurthala Road. Also, waterlogging was reported from Basti Bawa Khel, 120-Feet road, Sodal Nagar, Preet nagar, Qilla Mohalla and Chandan Nagar areas.

With the incessant rain, the city is also witnessing prolonged power cuts due to which most of the core banking, telecommunications, entertainment and emergency services are getting affected from the last few days.

Weather forecast for tomorrow

Cloudy, MOC, occasional rain, thunder Storm, mist.

(Source: Met department at Adampur Air Force Station)

Jalandhar, September 5
Though students and the staff of School of Meritorious Students on Kapurthala Road along with officials of the Punjab Education Department, who were here for the state-level Teacher’s Day function, were all prepared to watch the live telecast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech, the day did not bring much excitement.

The staff had their bouquets readied. Sofa sets were laid in the hostel mess. An LCD screen with cable connection was installed recently. As many as 350 students, who had cleared their matriculation examination with a minimum of 80 per cent, were seated on clean mattresses and chairs. Some students were ready with floral trays and vermillion to be applied on foreheads of guests, expected to arrive soon.

Arrangements were made for soft drinks, tea and snacks, but the guests, including Principal Secretary Anjali Bhawra, Director General School Education GK Singh and Director Public Instructions (elementary and secondary) did not turn up to see the live telecast of the much-publicised interaction of the PM with students. They preferred to move back from the venue of the state-level Teacher’s Day function at DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology.

The students had also prepared songs and poems for the entertainment of the guests before the PM’s speech started at 3 pm. But the only guest who finally turned up at the venue was District Education Officer (secondary), Jalandhar, Harinder Pal Singh.

As the live telecast finally started, the volume of the TV was too low for students, who had been accommodated in the hall. The staff hurriedly arranged for a microphone, which raised the volume a bit, but owing to weather disturbances, the interaction of the PM largely remained unheard. The telecast was disrupted in between due to snapping of the cable signal.

A student of the school, Sandeep, said though the programme was not much audible, he still could catch some motivational lines in between. “If not the audio, we could at least read the highlights being flashed. Whatever it may be, we are so happy that the country’s top man is concerned about us,” he said.