Mail

From Kandahar to Assembly Complex

Sir,

The attack of State Assembly complex by Jaish-e-Mohammad militant outfit compells me go back to December 1999 when Government of India set free a hard core terrorist Azhar Masod a Pakistani National, in lieu of hijacked plane of Indian Air Lines. It will not be an exaggeration to think that the seeds sown by our politicians and leaders yielded the fruit of the same make. History provides us ample evidences when great politicians have committed great blunders for smaller objectives. Bending before the dictum of hijackers has shown us this day when even the most sensitive area of Assembly complex was made target. The terrorist attack is no more less than World Trade Centre attack for us. But the leaders in this country hardly get distrubed by such horrendous acts of militants.

Militants responsible for such attacks have reasons to celebrate and expand their areas of operation to the other parts of the world as well because the American slow motion retaliatory programmes have boosted the morale of such terrorists. It will be in the fitness of the things to mention that security arrangements surrounding the Assembly complex should not be criticised as suicide squads cannot be prevented all time doing damage. Any person who has dared to finish himself can have no value for others men or matter.

Now when the situation has already truned an ugly look, the people at the helm of affairs should not waste more time to check the menace. With every successful attack the militants and their supporters might be feeling exulted and fabricating new strategies and mission. Their main aim is to engulf the whole State in particular and whole country in general unders the fire of terrorism

Yours etc...
Pawan K Pandita
Durga Nagar,
Jammu.

Telephone

Sir,

I would like to invite the attention of Telecommunication Department through your esteemed paper that I had applied for telephone connection in the senior citizen category on 2.2.2001 and 9.5.2001 respectively. But I could not get connection despite repeated requests to the Deptt. During my hard and bad days when my sister was ill who expired on 13.9.2001, I faced difficulties while rushing to STDs, PCOs to attend the phone at the time of unavoidable necessity. I am sorry to point out that the Department did not help for providing the telephone connection.

It is therefore, once again requested to the concerned authorities of the Telecom. Deptt. to provide the telephone connections at the earliest.

Yours etc...
Vidya Rattan Sharma
Retd. Sr. Teacher
Senior Citizen
R/o Nagrota Gujjroo
(Billawar)

Criteria for Arts Teachers

Sir,

At present Service Selection Board (SSB) has kept one and the same criteria for the selection of arts and science teachers which is a big injustice with the arts candidates. Because the candidates of the same calibre cannot secure as many marks in Arts stream as in Science stream due to the following facts. Let us take this case from the very beginning Higher Secondary Part II. In HSP-II internal and external assessment is allowed to the candidates of Science stream which carry more than 90 percent marks to them even to very poor students who get only pass marks in theory examination, but over all he passes with 60 percent marks whereas in Arts stream there is no such provision of assessment, there is all theory exam. Moreover, the theory of Science subjects is limited and to the point which carries mathematical marks whereas the theory of Arts subjects languages, Social Sciences etc. is unlimited which carriers very low percentage to the candidates.

This all causes a lot of difference in the percentage division between Science and Arts candidates. Consequently, Science candidates obtain better percentage or division than arts candidates in HSP II exam. This difference continues in all further examinations upto M.A M.Sc. But the selection of teachers is made by the SSRB as per the percentage/division of the candidates secured in different examinations. As a result, the arts candidates have very rare chances of selection owing to their low percentage/division as compared with science candidates. It is all due to the one and the same criteria for both the streams. This is why there is shortage of language and social studies teachers in the education Department and heads of the Secondary and middle institutions are facing this problem. A teacher selected from medical or non medical stream cannot do justice with candidates in teaching language and social studies. The result is that quality of education is falling day by day due to the shortage of subject teachers. Thus the separate criteria for the selection of Srts teachers is needed to meet with the shortage of arts teachers in the Department as well as to improve the falling standard and quality of education in our State.

It will not be out of place to mention here that responsible authorities in the Education Deptt. have been making efforts to provide subject teacher in every stream in every school, but it is very painful that till today the authorities have failed miserably and the institutions have not been provided with the subject teachers so far with the result the Govt. Schools are still suffering for want of subject teachers.

Yours etc...
CR Khajuria
Retd. Lect. Surora (Patayari)
Hiranagar.