DEVELOP READING HABIT AND WIDEN YOUR HORIZONS- RTI COMMISSIONER PUNJAB

LUDHIANA, NOVEMBER 11:

Delivering a thought provoking lecture on the "Role of RTI in Education," Mr P.P.S. Gill, Information Commissioner (RTI), Punjab and PAU alumnus, said, "RTI itself is an education. It is one of the acts of the independent India which has stirred the nation and empowered the people." He was addressing the varsity faculty and the students on the occasion of National Education Day here today. The event was organised by the PAU Science Club. Mr Gill said that in democracy, there are three important ingredients which include awareness, information and knowledge and all these are provided by RTI. Sharing the essential details of the RTI Act, Mr Gill said that the information about e-mails, press releases, documents, orders, circulars, etc. can be sought by the public authority. He informed that anyone willing to seek information under RTI, can visit the website infocommPunjab.com. Elaborating, Mr Gill said that the education has to perform multitudes of functions. He exhorted the youth to widen their horizons by developing a reading habit and keeping themselves updated about the day-to-day happenings in the world. Referring to agriculture, he said, "It cannot grow and develop in isolation." Agriculture is mother of all cultures, said he, while advising the students to read PAU publications regularly in order to have holistic view of the farming. Mr Gill further urged the members of the faculty to work with the spirit of mission.



Speaking at the function, Dr Badev Singh Dhillon, PAU Vice-Chancellor, emphasized "Make the Punjab Agricultural University indispensable." Dr Dhillon said that his major aim is to bring the PAU on the top and that the Punjab should get the due recognition. Stressing "Change is difficult but change we must," he underlined the need to motivate the students to pass Agriculture Research System (ARS)/Junior Research Fellowship (JRF)/National Eligibility Test (NET) examinations. There is a need to teach "civics" at the undergraduate level and "ethics in academics" at the postgraduate level. Dr Dhillon further said that it is the duty of the teachers to inculcate a sense of responsibility among the student fraternity and make them good citizens of the nation. Appreciating the students' respect for the stage and their mentors during the PAU Youth Festival, he called upon the youth to give equal respect to their teachers.



A fruitful interaction took place where all the queries pertaining to the RTI Act were responded by Mr Gill. Dr Dhillon honoured Mr Gill with a memento and appreciated his talk on the RTI relevance in education. The PAU students Lopamudra Mahapatra and Jaskirat Kaur spoke on the role of higher education and elementary education in India.

Earlier, Dr Gursharan Singh, Dean, Postgraduate Studies, PAU, welcomed the dignitaries, members of the faculty and the students. He told that to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of Independent India, the PAU Science Club today celebrated National Education Day on the campus. Dr Singh said that the commitment of the students and the teachers is a way to achieve excellence. Dr B.S. Sohal, Controller of Examinations, PAU, proposed the vote of thanks.
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