SD College files appeal against withdrawal of affiliation to MCA courseAfter the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) withdrew affiliation to run the MCA course,SD College has filed an appeal. Panjab University had asked the college to send all the 80 students enrolled under the course to the varsity and also deposit the entire course fee collected from the students. SD College,however,has refused to agree saying it was following regulations according to which they have filed an appeal and any other measure can be taken only after their appeal is decided. College Principal Dr A C Vaid said,The university has no power to ask us to send students to them or give them the fee. We are continuing with the course and have filed an appeal. We are sure that our affiliation would be reinstated. Non-teaching staff of colleges demand revised salariesTo protest against the UT Administrations failure to release the revised salaries for non-teaching employees,a rally was held in SD College,Sector 32,on Saturday. More than 150 non-teaching employees from all aided colleges of the city participated in the protest demanding implementation of the new pay scales. The non-teaching federation urged the Administration to release the pay to employees of aided colleges equivalent to their counterparts in government colleges. The union also threatened to cease work and boycott examination duties if their demands are not met. Panel approves extension to PGI directorThe Institute Body of the PGI,in a meeting held at Delhi,has given conditional approval to the extension of term of hospital director Professor K K Talwar. He has already been given an extension till April 2011 by the Centre and the same was ratified by the body conditionally as the grant of extension had been challenged in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). The body approved the two-year extension given to the director from April 2009 to 2011. SHOs to get training in criminal lawThe Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law,Punjab,in association with the Bureau of Police Research and Development,New Delhi,is organising a five-day training programme on the Role of Police and Criminal Justice,for Station House Officers (SHOs) posted at different police stations in Punjab. The workshop,which will begin on Monday,aims to brush up the knowledge of SHOs with regard to the emerging crime scenario,recent law enactments relating to criminal law and investigation and judicial directives and guidelines. Around 20 SHOs have been nominated for the meet from six police ranges of Punjab through the office of S K Sharma,ADGP (Training) Punjab. The programme will be inaugurated by Justice R S Mongia,chairman,Human Rights Commission,Punjab. St Xaviers bids farewell to Class X studentsClass X students of St Xaviers High School,Sector 20,Panchkula,were given a warm send off on Saturday. It was a touching moment for the children as well as staff members after long years of association. The programme began with the lighting of the Lamp of Wisdom followed by a presentation of a bouquet to principal George Shear. A prayer service was followed by an entertaining show by Class IX students. Mementos were also presented. Placement drive held at ITFTNearly 157 students received offer letters from corporate houses including BMI,Radisson Delhi,Taj Hyderabad,Indigo Airlines,HDFC,Leela Palace,International Travel House,DLF,ISTA Amritsar and Career Weavers at a placement drive launched by the Institute of Technology and Future Management Trends (ITFT) on Saturday. Executive director Dr Gulshan Sharma said that with the service industry having emerged as a new engine of economic growth and employment generation,maximum jobs were available in its various segments. NRI meet organised by State Bank of IndiaAround 50 NRIs from 15 different countries attended the NRI meet organised by the State Bank of India,NRI Branch,on Saturday. The meeting was presided over by regional manager T K Berry,who highlighted the various special offers and products being offered by the bank for NRIs. Suresh Goyal,chief manager of the branch,along with his team,heard out the suggestions and expectations of NRIs. Govt school students visit Infosys campusIn an effort to promote information technology as a career option among rural students,the Department of Information Technology in collaboration with the Chandigarh branch of Infosys,organised a visit for students of Government Senior Secondary School,Baghapurna in Moga district,to the Infosys campus on Saturday. An interactive session Spark Event was also held during the visit. Around 90 students along with faculty members,including Manjit Singh,were taken for a campus tour. Students were also familiarised with contemporary trends in the IT sector. The Spark Event was conceptualised by Infosys in 2008 as part of its corporate social responsibility endeavour and is coordinated from the Bengaluru office. Third moot court contest begins at AILThe third two-day Surana and Surana National Corporate Law Moot Court Competition began at the Army Institute of Law (AIL) in Sector 68 on Saturday. Punjab Advocate General H S Mattewal inaugurated the competition,in which 35 teams from leading national law institutes are participating,while Haryana Bar Council Chairman Partap Singh was the guest of honour. Sharing his experiences,Mattewal threw light on the realities of the law profession and how one needs to work hard and groom themselves to achieve success. Ravi Chandran,Head,Academic Initiative,Surana and Surana,highlighted the importance of such competitions for budding advocates. The semi-final and final rounds will be held on Sunday. The winners will be awarded by Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal while Justice Jasbir Singh would be the guest of honour at the valedictory function.