STUDENTS FROM CURRENT ACADEMIC SESSIONChandigarh June 24: On the persuasion of Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal, Association of Punjab State Technical Private Institutions today agreed in principle to reserve 10% of seats in their respective institutions free of cost exclusively for the rural students with first division or above from the academic session 2008-09.
These institutions would impart absolute free education including the facilities of free boarding, lodging and transportation to the eligible beneficiaries.
An assurance to this effect was given by the members of the association which called on Punjab Chief Minister here at his official residence late evening. Expressing grave concern to provide free education to the students with rural background who were deprived of the facility of basic education from the day one due to extreme poverty, Mr. Badal called upon management of the private engineering colleges to come forward for this noble cause.
The Chief Minister assured the association for the sympathetic consideration of their genuine demands including an enactment of Punjab State Technical Education Act and streamlining counseling procedure for the admissions in the various technical institutions adopted by Punjab Technical University (PTU). Mr. Badal also asked the Principal Secretary Technical Education Mrs. Tejinder Kaur to devise ways and means to implement the six year engineering courses in Punjab after class 10th on the Haryana pattern. He also asked her to work out modalities for few Government Senior Secondary schools in the vicinity of these private engineering and technical colleges to run 10+2 classes by the management of these institutions as these were well equipped with qualified staff and infrastructure as a ‘pilot project’. He said this step would certainly improve the quality of students to be admitted in these engineering colleges and the schools would act as a nursery for these institutions. Mr. Badal also emphasized the need to start evening classes in the institutions for
short term courses in skill development free of cost for the benefit of rural students. He also asked the management of these institutions to start more engineering colleges especially at the block level within a radius of 25 to 30 K.M to cater to the need of technical education.
Prominent among others who attended the meeting including Principal Secretary Technical Education-cum- Vice Chancellor Mrs. Tejinder Kaur, Financial Commissioner Mrs. Romila Dubey, Principal Secretary Transport Mr. D.S. Jaspal, Chairmen PSEB Y.S Ratra, Secretry Housing & Urban Development Arun Goel, Secretary Local Government D.S. Bains, Chief Administrator GAMADA Vivek Partap Singh besides Chairman Satnam Singh Sandhu and President Rashpal Singh Dhaliwal of Chandigarh Group of Colleges, Mr. Manjit Singh of Doaba Group of Colleges, Dr. Zora Singh of Desh Bhagat Group of Colleges and Mr. Sukhdev Singla Chairman Indo-Global Group of Colleges.