BACK
ON THE ISC FRONT
Introduction
The biggest boon of working in the ISC is the opportunity that one gets to visit the heart of Punjab- our villages in various districts. This is now a very pleasant compulsion due to the kind of work we are doing on the Education Front.
My dear Readers, please don’t be shocked if I tell you that our school and even college students are moving forward from class to class each year without any fixed aim or set targets in life. Leave aside career planning at the advanced stage, they don’t even know why they are being sent to school. Is it to just procure a certificate ( whose worth we know)? Or is there a much deeper meaning to education for advancement torwards a meaningful career which will grant the growing child an appropriate channel for full and happy lifetime?
Towards this, the ISC, and it’s close band of workers and friendly NGOs’ are striving to start and maintain a movement. We are encouraged by the willingness shown by NGOs’ such as “Sikhs Helping Sikhs”, Dedicated Brothers Group, Patiala, Guru Nanak VBT Polytechnic, Mohali SAS nagar, Sikh Graduates Association, Hyderabad, The Sikh Education Society, Chandigarh, Guru Gobind Study Circle, Ludhiana, Gyan Sewa Trust, New Delhi, Trust for Welfare of Vanjaras and other weaker sections Regd., Mohali. Baba Ji Sewa Singh, Khadur Sahib and Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal who have contributed a lot by running excellent Schools and Colleges, in addition to protecting and improving the environment in their areas of influence. It is indeed such an honour and pleasure to to work shoulder to shoulder with them all.
It is vital to educate and inform our students about various career options available in today’s Indian job Market.
Achievements
The Secretary general and his team visited chosen backward villages of Punjab in Moga, Sangrur, Patiala, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, and Hoshiarpur throughout the year 2013 and early 2014. We addressed students in various Schools and Colleges. We also addressed their parents in Gurudwaras and met the Panchayats. Our meetings and discussions were most fruitful on the subjects of advancement in Education, making full use of Central Scholarship Schemes, Employment openings and methods of preparing and applying for available jobs. From a state of utter ignorance about Education Scholarships and job opportunities, we feel that there is now a considerable awakening in this regard.
To prove that Punjab has actually woken up towards improved awareness, we include here some very encouraging figures obtained from our devoted Education promoter – Col. J. S. Multani:-
a Year 2013-14:- Scholarships applications submitted through ISC efforts were a total of 4,77,000 amounting to claiming over Rs. 150 crores from Central Govt. funds for Minority scholarship schemes.
b. Col. J.S.Multani and his team re-activated nearly 36,000 applications which were rejected due to errors by applicants by close and prolonged negotiations with the Punjab Minority Cell amounting to a bonus of Rs. 32 crores for the poorer students of Punjab.
The above 36,000 cheques could not possibly be distributed in time and intact by the Govt. Cell. ISC and it’s workers in each district moved into action and ensured that each student concerned was delivered the Scholarship cheque to his/her utter delight. This was indeed a stellar achievement this year. We have also geared up to arrange increased allotments to more and more needy left out students this year. To overcome the huge task of distribution of cheques, we will strive hard for the authorities to send all scholarships including Pre-Matric electronically direct into Students Bank Accounts.
Progress of Coaching Centres.
The ISC sponsored and fully financed Coaching Centre at Mukandpur in Nawanshaher District is indeed a success story. It has uplifted the rural students into a enlightened and competitive lot. The science streams of the School and College have scaled great heights and the whole district has gained an lot. With a dedicated group of Teachers under the School Principal Bibi Parmjit Kaur and Co-ordinator par Excellence Bibi Daljeet Kaur. I cannot forget friends in the area telling me way back in 2008, “General Gill, are you dreaming of preparing village children from Govt. Schools with a background of poor English, Science and Maths for National/State competitions. Please do not waste your effort and time”. We have proved them wrong and my friends, the college distinguished Principal S. Gurjant Singh and NRI’s S. K.S. Shergill and S.S. Dhindsa, who have supported and helped us, will vouch to our success whole heartedly .
We have taken on the task of helping two more Schools to set up such Coaching Centres. They are Guru Nanak Public Senior Secondary School at MOGA and Sri Guru Harkrishan Senior Secondary Public School, Pandori Khazoor, Distt. Hoshiarpur. The gestation period is 3 to 4 years and we wish them equal success in the years to come. The enthusiasm is already visible in students and staff
ISC Membership
We appeal to young Gurskih volunteers as well as recently retired Sikh Intellectuals to volunteer to join the ISC as members. You have only to visit our headquarter at Plot No.1 Sector 28-A, Chandigarh and fill up an applicants form. Admission fee is only Rs.500/- for 2 years. There is an urgent need for sincere volunteers who feel the need to serve society and ensure the advancement of Punjab and Sikhs in the coming years.
We also request our already devoted members to please renew their membership earliest. Renewal fee is only Rs.500/-. We value your membership. This relatively modest contribution helps the ISC move forward towards it’s chosen goals.
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