Articles by Surender Sharma
PU shelves ‘unfeasible’ Rs 200-cr, 100-bed hospital at its dental sciences college
Panjab University (PU) has shelved the Rs 200 crore 100-bed hospital project at Dr Harvansh Singh Judge Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, terming it ‘unfeasible’.

Updated on Oct 04, 2014 12:38 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Finally, PU gives nod to 'branch sliding'
The engineering students admitted from this academic session at various engineering institutes of Panjab University have something to cheer about. Next year on, undergraduate students will be allowed to change their streams at the end of their first year.

Updated on Oct 03, 2014 10:04 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Times rankings: Panjab University’s score slips in all five parameters
Even while Panjab University authorities continued to deliberate on improving their rank since the announcement of last year’s rankings, the varsity’s performance has slipped in all five parameters of the Times Higher Education Rankings 2014-15, slipping to 276-300 bracket top universities. Last year, the university was ranked among the top 250 universities of the world by the same agency.

Updated on Oct 03, 2014 01:05 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
What’s the criteria? Questions over PEC Singapore tour list
A proposed study tour to Singapore by a 15-member team of PEC University of Technology has raised eyebrows, with a section of the faculty questioning the inclusion of four participants on the list.

Updated on Sep 24, 2014 08:54 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
PU hostels to have LED TVs, washing machines
Hostellers at Panjab University (PU) will soon get Diwali gifts. The university has decided to buy washing machines for girls’ hostels and LED televisions for all 18 hostels. Dean, students welfare, Navdeep Goyal said, “The university is in the process of buying 46 inches and 55 inches LED televisions for the common rooms of all boys’ and girls’ hostels.

Updated on Sep 23, 2014 10:01 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
PU dental institute seeks nod for PG courses
Dr Harwansh Singh Judge Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital (DHSJIDS), Panjab University, sought permission from the Dental Council of India (DCI) for offering post-graduate courses on Sunday.

Updated on Sep 22, 2014 04:42 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
PU levies charge on “free” Wi-fi facilty
The much-hyped "free" Wi-fi service on the Panjab University has now been made a paid facility. From this academic session, PU has begun to levy a charge of Rs 50 a month to avail the Wi-fi facility on in PU hostels. And what is more, students have also been told that those unwilling to pay for the service will have to discontinue the service.

Updated on Sep 18, 2014 12:17 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
PU not to charge fees from the poor
Students from poor financial background but with good academic record at Panjab University campus will start getting financial aid soon.

Updated on Sep 17, 2014 04:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
PU mulls changes in sabbatical leave regulations to promote research
To promote research undertaken by faculty members, Panjab University (PU) is set to make changes to the rules for sabbatical leave availed by faculty members for the purpose.

Updated on Sep 15, 2014 02:21 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Centre allows pension portability benefits for senior academia
Union human resource development (HRD) minister Smriti Irani on Saturday said the Centre has allowed pension portability benefits for senior academicians joining central universities.

Updated on Sep 14, 2014 01:41 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Candidates spent just Rs 55,000 during PU polls: Observers
Even as student parties splurged lakhs of rupees on the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) elections, the final report submitted by 10 observers of PU have concluded that all candidates spent a cumulative amount of merely Rs 55,000 in the one week of electioneering.

Updated on Sep 11, 2014 02:30 PM IST
Reuters | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Objections raised over colonel as next PU registrar
The proposed appointment of Colonel GS Chadha as the next registrar of Panjab University has run into a controversy. Senator Sandeep Kumar and Prof K Tankeshwar, one of the applicants for the post, have written to the vice-chancellor, Arun Kumar Grover, claiming that Chadha did not “fit into the criteria” for the post.

Updated on Sep 09, 2014 02:22 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
New measures on cards for PUCSC polls
Panjab University has planned for new measures for the future Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) elections. Heavy penalties for mass bunking, recognising political parties to rein them in, allowing students to campaign on campus with identity cards, are some of them.

Updated on Sep 08, 2014 02:36 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Freebies failed to make any material impact
Student political parties might have focused on sending trips to hill stations, discotheques nights and fresher parties, the students at the Panjab University Campus Students' Council elections seem to have voted for all.

Updated on Sep 07, 2014 11:46 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Splintering of opposition votes helped NSUI in PU student polls
Victory on three of the four seats in PUCSC has obviously brought cheer to the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). A closer look at the results, however, reveals a victory due to a division of votes between opposition outfits.

Updated on Sep 07, 2014 03:37 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
PU polls: NSUI wins 3, PUSU 1
Springing a surprise, the student wing of the Congress Party, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) -led alliance swept Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) elections by winning three seats out of four, including that of the president, second time in a row.

Updated on Sep 06, 2014 03:46 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Mainly three-pronged contest on cards
As many as 14,323 students will decide the fate of 21 candidates for the posts of president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary at the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) polls that start at 9:45am on Friday, in a high-security environment with police deployed in numbers.

Updated on Sep 05, 2014 01:17 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Free trips included, Rs 40K spent on poll campaign so far
Were it not for the seriousness of the matter, it would be hard not to view the free trips organized by various outfits ahead of the student council elections as one big joke.

Updated on Sep 04, 2014 01:04 PM IST
None | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Students allege SAD using unfair means to ensure its wing SOI wins
Elections for the four posts in the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) is turning out to be a prestige issue for the ruling alliance party in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The SAD is taking all steps to ensure that its student wing, the Student Organisation of India (SOI) is victorious in the PU elections.

Updated on Sep 04, 2014 01:35 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Dept of laws, UILS hold the key to poll success this time
For years, it has been University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) which would decide the fate of the candidates in the fray for the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) elections.

Updated on Sep 03, 2014 02:23 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Student outfits woo foreign students at PU
Every vote appears to count for student outfits as many of them seem to be attempting to woo foreign students studying on the campus since the beginning of this year.

Updated on Sep 02, 2014 02:09 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
To curb free trips, PU bans entry of buses on campus
Panjab University has banned the entry of buses on the campus in the wake of various parties resorting to offering fun and free trips to lure student voters. While many such instances have come to light in the past as well, on Sunday four buses were used to ferry students – two each to Shimla and Kasauli, carrying hostellers and many others.

Updated on Sep 01, 2014 10:33 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Violations abound a day after imposition of election code of conduct on campus
Even as model code of conduct in view of the Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) came into force on Wednesday evening, vehicles were seen zooming around the campus with printed material pasted on them and posters were still seen at several locations at the university on Thursday.

Updated on Aug 29, 2014 11:00 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
PU to take call on vehicle-free zones today
Panjab University mulls declaring its campus a vehicle free zone during election.

Updated on Aug 26, 2014 11:15 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
PU tightens noose around student parties' expenditure
With polls approaching, Panjab University has decided to check reckless spending by student bodies. The varsity will keep a record of their expenditure. Student parties in PU are notorious for reckless spending on tents and decorations in the run-up to student polls.

Updated on Aug 27, 2014 06:25 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
‘Trained’ student leaders ready for big fight
Mock question-answer sessions, dressing tips and speeches with precise scripts. No, these are not training sessions for job interviews. These are, in fact, a part of over a month-long programme by various political bodies functioning at Panjab University in preparation for the upcoming student body elections.

Updated on Aug 25, 2014 11:11 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Student bodies’ protests on PU campus draws flak
As the Panjab University Campus Student Council elections approach, protests undertaken by student parties have began to drawing flak from both PU officials as well as student organisations themselves.

Updated on Aug 24, 2014 02:16 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
Eyeing poll gains, new outfits sprout on campus
The hype over international university rankings and the new found opportunity to bargain for advantages while forming poll alliances, have resulted in new students’ groups cropping up on the Panjab University campus almost every week during the past two months.

Updated on Aug 20, 2014 11:13 AM IST
None | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh
PU to assign fixed time slots for political events on south campus
With South campus witnessing frequent brawls between various students’ groups, Panjab University has decided to allot fixed time slots to them to hold political events like rallies, announcement sessions and other activities at the Sector-25 campus, which mostly houses professional institutes like University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), Dental Sciences college and University Institute of Applied Management Studies (UIAMS) among others.

Updated on Aug 19, 2014 11:30 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma
To please them all, it is raining posts for PU polls
With elections becoming expensive with each passing year and aspirations of student leaders difficult to deal with, the student parties on the campus are on a spree to distribute posts. Not a single day passes without any announcement on the campus about various posts.

Updated on Aug 17, 2014 02:16 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Surender Sharma, Chandigarh