The Hindu : New Delhi News : Vocational colleges seek exemptions from MCD

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 23, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Vocational colleges seek exemptions from MCD

Following the Supreme Court order directing closure of commercial establishments in residential areas of the Capital, vocational colleges operating from such areas have been asking the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for clarification and seeking exemption on grounds of not being "either shops or offices''.

The vocational colleges have pleaded that their status as educational institutes provides them immunity from such an order but are concerned that the MCD in its over-zealousness may run roughshod over their pleas.

Students of vocational colleges -- an estimated 5 lakhs of them across Delhi -- now face the threat of sudden closure of their colleges and institutes if the Supreme Court does not allow exemption of such institutes. Students have expressed concern about their future in the absence of any clear indications.

At a press conference organised by representatives of United Students, a group of Delhi University students working on issues of good governance expressed solidarity with the affected students.

Said Deepak Bora, a History (Honours) student of Hans Raj College: "Whatever be the merits of the case, students' careers are at stake. We ask the Delhi Chief Minister to ensure that their education is not interrupted and they are either allowed to finish their courses or that alternative arrangements are made for their education''.

The conference also saw the participation of students of private vocational colleges who are directly affected. United Students chief coordinator Ajay Jain added that the group was also considering petitioning the Supreme Court directly as well as organising student protests later in the week if a clarification was not forthcoming from the State Government.

"All we are saying is that the students of Delhi should not be punished for the follies of either MCD or the State Government or indeed the institutions", he said.

* * *

Providing students a single-window option to gather information about various opportunities available in India and abroad, Education Worldwide India Fair is back again this year.

Coming with the promise of being bigger and more informative, the two-day fair comes to Delhi on April 15 at Pragati Maidan with 140 institutions from all over the world participating in it.

Said the Chief (Marketing Operations) of Global Events and Exposition Siddharth Jain: "With over 250 national and international participants, the fair will provide accurate and up-to-date information on professional courses and career option available within various streams including management, computer education, medical, fashion, multimedia, hotel management, tourism, air hostess training, graphic design, beauty care, polytechnics and language courses among others.''

Apart from this, participation by Indian Air Force will be an added attraction.

The participating countries include Singapore, Britain, France, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia, Switzerland, United States, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Cyprus, Russia, New Zealand, China, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

* * *

The Air Hostess Academy (AHA) and University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) have signed an agreement validating AHA's one-year diploma programme in India and in the forthcoming international branches.

Under the agreement, CIE will use its extensive resources and expertise to `quality assure' AHA's diploma programme all over the world. CIE staff and consultants will also review the teaching and assessment procedures at AHA's centres throughout India, and provide coaching for AHA's administrative and academic staff.

AHA founder Sapna Gupta said: "AHA is the first Indian institute of its own kind to get validation from University of Cambridge International Examinations. Now, with CIE providing `quality assurance', students can be assured that they are receiving the highest quality training the industry can provide''.

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi

News Update

Stories in this Section