Participants pledged to plant 1050 trees each in their lifetime

BK News

Yamunanagar: Haryana Biodiversity Board organised a special event to celebrate International Biodiversity Day at Guru Nanak Khalsa (GNK) Group of Institutions. The event saw the enthusiastic participation of students and faculty from Guru Nanak Khalsa College Yamunanagar, Guru Gobind Singh College of Pharmacy, and Guru Nanak Khalsa Institute of Technology and Management.
The event was inaugurated by Vasvi Tyagi, Chief Conservator of Forests, Ambala, who was the chief guest and  Dr Virender Singh Gill, District Forest Officer Yamunanagar, who was the guest of the honour at the occassion.

The event witnessed a plethora of activities including a Morning Awareness Rally, Poster Making Competition, Slogan Writing Competition, and captivating skits and meme performances by students of GNK Group

In his inaugural address, Dr Peer Ghulam Nabi, Chief Executive Officer of GNK Group of Institutions, stressed that society and state have a responsibility towards future generations. Therefore, ecological preservation has to be central to the development agenda. He urged everyone to take active participation in preserving biodiversity.

In her 30-minute talk, Ms Tyagi emphasized the critical role of biodiversity conservation in sustainable development. Tyagi said till 1830 Haryana was rich in biodiversity. Lions, tigers and leopards were present in its forests. During colonial rule, these species disappeared as the British destroyed forests in the name of development. She asked participants to reclaim Haryana’s past by making it a biodiversity-rich region again.
Dr Virender Singh Gill, DFO highlighted the government’s initiatives to save Mother Earth.
Sayyam Maratha, Head CSR Jamna Auto Industries, expressed the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability. She presented a detailed account of Jamna Autos’ contribution towards ecological preservation.

Three award-winning organic farmers Mr. Daremveer, Tarun and Ammar Ahmad explained their journey of producing organic food. All three farmers were felicitated at the event.

In his message, that was read out at the function, Sardar Randeep Singh Jauhar, Chairman Haryana Biodiversity Board commended the efforts of the students in committing to be brand ambassadors in raising awareness about biodiversity conservation. and “be part of the plan “which is the theme for this year. Each participant committed to planting 1050 trees in their lifetime.

Scholarships worth Rs 1 cr distributed among 550 meritorious students, sports achievers

 Yamunanagar (Haryana): Guru Nanak Khalsa College Yamunanagar hosted the Jamna Auto Industries Scholarship Distribution Function, a significant event aimed at recognizing and rewarding deserving meritorious students and sports achievers from the GNK Group of Institutions.

The institutions under the GNK Group umbrella include Guru Nanak Khalsa College Yamunanagar, GGS College of Pharmacy, GNK Institute of Technology and Management, and School of Employability.

A total scholarship amount of Rs 1 crore was distributed among 550 students, reaffirming the institution’s commitment to nurturing academic excellence and sporting talent. The event was graced by dignitaries, including Major Rajinder Singh Bhatti, Vice President of the Guru Nanak Khalsa College Committee; Dr Peer GN Suhail, Group COO of GNK Group of Institutions; and Sanyam Maratha, Group CSR Head of Jamna Auto Industries.

The ceremony commenced with a tree plantation ceremony, symbolizing growth and sustainability, followed by the traditional lighting of the lamp. Dr. Harinder Singh Kang, Principal of Guru Nanak Khalsa College Yamunanagar, expressed gratitude for the generous scholarships sponsored by JAI as part of their CSR initiative. Sanyam Maratha, Head of JAI CSR, shared insights into the organization’s commitment to supporting education and empowering deserving students.

Dr Peer GN Suhail presented and released the Annual Report of GNKGI during the event, highlighting the academic achievements and milestones of the institutions. The function culminated with an inspiring address by the Chief Guest, accompanied by a formal vote of thanks delivered by Dr Kumar Gaurave, Principal of GGS College of Pharmacy.

The event was graced by the presence and support of eminent personalities including Dr Kumar Gaurave, Dr Amit Joshi (Director GNK Institute of Technology and Management), Dr Kamalpreet Kaur (Vice Principal of Guru Nanak Khalsa College Yamunanagar), and Prof Santosh Kurra (Coordinator Incharge) alongside other esteemed staff members.

Sardar Randeep Singh Jauhar, President of the Governing Body and Managing Committee of Guru Nanak Khalsa Group of Institutions, extended heartfelt congratulations to the scholarship recipients, emphasizing the institution’s unwavering commitment to fostering excellence in education and holistic development.

The JAI Scholarship Distribution Function served as a testament to the collective efforts of institutions and organizations towards empowering deserving students and nurturing a brighter future for the community.

CRY-RILM project unites kids with books

BK News

Inayat Parvaiz was a decent student in school, till the pandemic struck. His father, the only earning member in the five-member family, lost his job and was struggling to make ends meet. The young boy was forced to join his brother at a sand digging/extraction site near his village, Baniyaree Sharkie, in the Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Inayat is among the millions of children across the country going through a huge learning lag, all because of the prolonged closure of schools during the pandemic. CRY and Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM) carried out a study based on responses of 4000 children, in the age group of 7-14,  from 4 states in the country – Jharkhand, West Bengal, Manipur and Jammu & Kashmir – to assess the quantum of loss, and also started a slew of remedial centres to assist the children make up for the lag. There are 39 such centres across the four states.

The CRY-RILM-Jammu Kashmir Association of Social Workers (JKASW) team identified Inayat as “out of school” and visited his father. They realized that the boy was willing to pursue his studies but could not do so, because of compulsions in his family. Although reluctant at first, his parents decided to let him attend the local Asha Kiran Centre in a flexible manner. He started attending classes and also started participating in various other activities. After his initial assessment, he was enrolled in Level 2 at the Asha Kiran Centre.  But regular attendance and diligent efforts meant that the boy made an appreciable improvement. After his final assessment, he was mainstreamed into Class 6 at Govt. Middle school, Gund Prang. He attends school regularly and makes it a point to attend remedial classes at the Asha Kiran Centre to compensate for his deficiencies.

 Classrooms brim with learning anew, the CRY-RILM project unites kids with books!

There are nine Asha Kiran Centres in three panchayat blocks of Bandipora district. Of the 565 children who joined these centres, around 16.81 per cent had dropped out of school because of the pandemic and related reasons and 64.8 per cent were found to be officially enrolled in school, but without age-appropriate learning levels. Around 44.1 per cent of the kids were found to be “poor” (learning levels at least two years behind their age-appropriate class) in basic reading skills and 45.1 per cent in basic calculations.

The stark ground reality in J&K mirrors the findings across the three other states in the country. Around 3.9 per cent of the 4000 children had been found to have dropped out because of the pandemic-induced school closure and more than 75 per cent of the children were found to be “poor” in basic reading skills and calculations.

CRY (North) Regional Director Soha Moitra is hopeful that change will happen, step by step. “The learning loss has been unparalleled, the exact ramifications of which will take longer to fathom and make up. In this post-COVID world, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to addressing the educational needs of children from underserved communities. Every community, every child and every context is unique. It is important to adopt and embrace contextually relevant and inclusive approaches that take into consideration the diverse needs and aspirations of children,” Moitra said.

Over the past eight months, the teachers at the Asha Kiran Centres in J&K have managed to bring back the children into some sort of a study environment, with regular classes, innovative Teaching-Learning Methods, extra-curricular activities and more. Students like Inayat, Tawfeeq Ahmed and several others have benefitted enormously from these classes and are showing appreciable improvement in the periodical assessments.

“The post-COVID learning assessment of 4,000 children across 4 states in the country, by CRY and Rotary India Literacy Mission, presents evidence on the severity of the learning losses incurred during school closures, and also charts out a path of recovery, phase by phase. It’s a journey full of lessons and experiences and a sustained campaign that has impacted not only the kids, but also the teachers, volunteers, parents and extended community.  Kudos to the ‘change-makers’ who are making it happen,” said Kamal Sanghvi, Chairman, Rotary India Literacy Mission.

Apart from the classes, the project team has held community meetings with teachers of local schools, local panchayat members and parents, all to create a comfortable space that will help the children overcome their learning gaps and get back into mainstream education.

Tawfeeq’s father Javed Ahmed was initially reluctant to send his son to the Asha Kiran Centre. But he is happy that he had finally paid heed to the advice of the project team members who had visited him.  A few months on, the proud father says:  “Asha Kiran Centre me mera beta bahot kuch sikh raha hai. Use yahan aana achha lagta hai (My son is learning a lot at the Asha Kiran Centre. He loves to come here).”