New Delhi

Protests and boycott over UGC's Model Act

THE PAST few days have been rather uneasy for universities and educational institutions across the Capital. While students of Jawaharlal Nehru University along with those from Delhi University and Jamia Millia Islamia held a protest march against the University Grants Commission's proposed `Model Act', there was trouble at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences too with the students boycotting classes for a week.

And though a decision on the `Model Act' is yet to be taken, students of AIIMS went back to their classes on Tuesday after a weeklong boycott following the rustication of six undergraduate medical students on charges of indiscipline and vandalism.

Despite having received widespread support from students in various other institutions across the city, including JNU and the AIIMS faculty, the students could not sustain their non-compliance with the 75 per cent attendance rule enforced by the Institute.

And while the tension seems to have eased, the student community is happy with the outcome. "We have been assured that curriculum reforms would be put in place in a month's time. The administration has already set up a curriculum reforms committee, which would look into various aspects of the syllabus and suggest changes and upgrading wherever required. Also, some of the practicals, including those of biochemistry and pharmacology, would soon be revised. The authorities are also looking into the possibility of interns doing part of their training in a foreign university. In all, we are happy with the reforms that have been brought in," said an AIIMS Students' Union leader.

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TO MARK World Health Day 2004, HRIDAY-SHAN - a non-government organisation involved in promoting health awareness and health activism among school and college students - proposes to develop a "Student Charter on Road Safety" which will be released on April 7.

To develop this charter, HRIDAY-SHAN is conducting an inter-college discussion this Thursday (February 26) to collect recommendations from youth for presentation to the Government through this. Ten colleges, including Lady Sri Ram, St. Stephen's, Hindu, Deshbandhu, Jesus & Mary, Miranda House, Sri Venkateswara, Daulat Ram and Hans Raj, are participating in the event.

A team of four students from each college will present the charter developed by them. The topic for discussion is "Rising Road Traffic Accidents Are Inevitable Pangs Of Rapidly Advancing Development". A panel of judges will evaluate each team's presentation and the first two winning teams will be awarded prizes.

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THE DELHI University Vice-Chancellor, Deepak Nayyar, inaugurated a utilities centre on the North Campus on Tuesday. The centre is a 700 sq.m. building housing a post office, two banks, a railway reservation office, and Delhi Transportation Corporation pass counters.

The opening of the centre fulfils a longstanding need felt by the students and other members of the university community. Designed in an environment-friendly manner, the building has easy accessibility to various facilities and enables barrier-free movement for the physically challenged to all areas of the building.

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THE ALL-India Institute of Medical Sciences will, for the first time, play host to the National Science Day celebrations on February 28. The programme has been organised in collaboration with the cultural association of the Institute titled `Gunjan'. A. P. Mitra of the National Physical Laboratory will chair the function, and the speakers include the Director of the Centre for Philosophy and Foundation of Science, Ranjit Nair. He will speak on the topic: "Revisiting the Two Cultures: Conflict or Complimentarity?"

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

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