Saudi Minister Wants Chinese Wall between Girls and Boys in Schools-

The Chief Minister of West Bengal Shri Buddhadev Bhattacharya meets the Deputy Prime Minister Shri L.K. Advani to discuss the issue of bifurcation of Eastern Railways in New Delhi on July 6, 2002.

Indian Oil Minister Ram Naik meets Saddam Hussain

Saddam Hussain, Iraqi President.

Baghdad; July 6, 2002 Ram Naik, Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, who is presently in Baghdad for the Indo-Iraq Joint Commission called on President Saddam Hussein today. In their two-hour meeting, President Saddam Hussein said that Iraq greatly values its relations with India.

He stated that this friendship had been a source of strength not only to Iraq, but to the Arab world. Shri Ram Naik conveyed the current developments between India and Pakistan, reiterating that India was always ready for a dialogue, but cross-border terrorism had to stop. President Saddam Hussein conveyed Iraq's principled and unwavering support to India on the Kashmir issue.

Ram Naik also met Vice President, Mr. Taha Yassin Ramadhan and the Industry and Oil Ministers today. The Joint Commission is expected to identify new prospects for Indian trade and industry - in railways, revamping of steel and fertilizer plants, pharmaceutical production and the supply of commodities like wheat, rice and sugar. A 50-member business delegation representing FICCI is accompanying the Minister.

The Indian ministers friendly visit to Iraq at a time when the US led Western coalition s conspiring to resume military strikes to oust the Saddam Hussain Government gives important diplomatic message. Indian companies are also keen to get a share of the multibillion reconstruction projects in the war devastated country.

Saudi Arabia closes three expatriate schools for violation of discipline norms

Riyadh: July 6, 2002. K.M.Ashraf

Saudi Arabia has ordered the closure of three expatriate schools as a punishment for violating rules and regulations. Saudi ministry of education said it would deal firmly with expatriate schools which breach local rules and regulations. Saudi Minister of Education has announced that three expatriate schools --one in Riyadh and two in Jeddah - were closed after they refused warnings about mixing boys and girls in school programmes

Saudi Education Minister Dr. Muhammad Al-Rasheed has ordered three international expatriate schools closed - one in Riyadh and two in Jeddah - for violating rules and instructions. The three schools have been asked to pay a fine of SR50,000 each. According to reports, the Riyadh school was shut down for organizing a mixed ceremony of boys and girls at a public rest house on May 8 --a violation of School Constitution and repeated government instruction to keep boys and girls in separate places.

One school in Jeddah was closed for halting studies in the middle of the last academic year. ' The school's owner stopped classes telling parents that he was in the process of appointing new teaching staff. The ministry said the owner's decision was harmful to students and obstructed the school's regular activities,' said reports.

The Saudi Ministry took strong action against the expatriate school in Jeddah for opening a new department to teach American syllabus last academic year without a license. The school was also accused of issuing certificates in questionable mannr.

July 6, 2002, 9.a.m. Dubai. keralamonitor.com.

Ducab records 30 per cent increase in cable output

doubles production of medium voltage cables

Dubai Cable factory.

Dubai Cable Company (Ducab) has recorded a 30 per cent increase in production levels across the entire product range and more than doubled the production of medium voltage (33KV and 11KV) cables in the second quarter of 2002, compared to the corresponding period last year. The impressive performance is the result of several initiatives taken by the management to enhance and upgrade working practices within the company in addition to extensive investment in recent expansion schemes designed to facilitate higher production levels. Ducab has also linked the results from the various quality management programmes to its existing annual profit sharing scheme and production incentive scheme for employees in order to stimulate greater employee loyalty, dedication and commitment.

"Ducab has always operated on the principle that investments in technology must be substantiated by corresponding investments in human resources, in order to maximize profits and this record increase in our production levels only proves the truth of this statement. An overall production increase of 30 percent is a remarkable achievement indeed, and a tribute to the commitment and dedication of our employees," said Colin Paskins, Managing Director, Ducab. "The staff of Ducab have combined their skills with the capabilities of the new equipment and implemented the new management schemes well to put up an impressive performance that is reflected in this dramatic increase in production."

As a result of two major expansions carried out in 1999 and 2001, Ducab has been able to make rapid strides in all aspects of production as well as introduce the new range of medium voltage cables. The expansion included the installation of new plant machinery specially designed for improved manufacturing processes. All equipment has been sourced from Europe with manufacturers' representatives providing hands-on training to the employees. The entire process of selection, installation and training took just 18 months.

In addition, Ducab has invested in several management programs designed to introduce improved working practices on the shopfloor. Crucial to the success of the expansion programme was the implementation of the international Six Sigma Quality improvement programme, which is a measure of quality that strives for near perfection, by eliminating defects in any process, from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.

"Ducab is the first manufacturing company in the Middle East to implement the renowned programme with Motorola University and has five projects running currently. Within manufacturing, the Six Sigma program has concentrated on Getting it Right the First Time and Bottleneck Management," said Graham Cheetham, General Manager (Manufacturing), Ducab. "The former has enhanced the quality aspect of the manufacturing process ensuring that the cables are of an extremely high standard on par with the finest in the world. The Bottleneck Management aspect of the programme enabled us to run the machines more efficiently, reduce errors and better organize men working on machines. It also involved identifying constraints in every manufacturing process and planning around it leading to an overall improvement in production levels and speeds in order to achieve faster time to market."

"We have successfully adopted the inter-disciplinary training approach where the employees are trained across several process and ready to take over on other machines in addition to their own when required. This has led to a stronger team spirit and better interaction among the employees. Each individual has learnt to be more productive. What is commendable is that people here have a positive attitude towards change and are always ready to support the management in making things move faster," he added.

Ducab has also successfully implemented the Japanese 5 S methodology to ensure that the shop floor is both ergonomic and efficient and that everything is in the right place at the right time. This is an ongoing program where the employees take responsibility for their workplace, clean and set the factory in order and then sustain the results. Benefits from these programmes are also being consolidated by good systems management, in particular within the departments of Planning, Engineering, Design and Final Test.--keralamonitor.com

 

Burundi Teachers end nationwide strike

NAIROBI, 5 July (IRIN) - Teachers in Burundi have agreed to go back to
work, thereby ending their nationwide strike over conditions, which began
on 13 May.

"Trade union officials told the media that teachers living close to their
schools would return to teaching on Friday, and those farther away on
Monday," the state-owned Agence burundaise de Presse, reported.

Under the deal, signed on Thursday, the teachers' unions and the Ministry
of Education undertook to implement the measures agreed on, and set up
commissions to discuss on outstanding issues, according Radio Burundi, one
such issue being the lack of career advancement. They also agreed that
financial and administrative sanctions would not be imposed on the
strikers.

During the strike, internally displaced persons (IDPs) in some parts of
the war-scarred country were allowed to shelter in schools. Emmanuel
Kabaragi, the administrator of Kabezi Commune, Bujumbura Rural Province,
said on Wednesday that when the strike ended IDPs would have to vacate
classrooms each morning to allow for teaching activities, and return to
sleep.

The strike had threatened to plunge the country into deeper economic ruin.
In addition to the need to end the war, and shore up the collapsing
economy, the strike was perhaps the most acute problem facing the
three-year transitional power-sharing government inaugurated on 1
November.(keralamonitor.com)

 

The Ends Justify the Means - Your Teachers Are Correct

Dr. M. Sidney Wallace

Outgoing NEA President Bob Chase recently made some very
noteworthy remarks at a national educators convention. I
feel that we need to expand on them a little bit here.

Mr. Chase, "Because the (Supreme) Court can say that
vouchers are constitutional - just as the Court for 60
years said that segregated schools were constitutional -
but that does not make it right."

Just as "separate but equal" was torn down in the past,
providing vouchers to competent black and minority children
will also be reversed. Your NEA and local teacher's unions
know that: just because a minority child is capable of
being educated does not mean that they should be.

Our professional educators can better decide what is best
for that child than the parents who are too close to the
situation to be objective. If these youths are left in the
current classrooms long enough they will eventually conform
and join the rest of their classmates following our social
rules for the betterment of society.

Mr. Chase spoke the truth with those words, and the
assembled professional educators responded with a loud and
boisterous cheer. Fear not brothers and sisters your
teachers and unions will not sit by idly while the ultra
right wing courts try to steal your future.

A brave and courageous California Judge is fighting a
solitary battle against the overall majority of our
citizens, but his ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance to
the Flag is unconstitutional, still stands. This is why it
is so important to support our esteem leaders in the Senate
like Tom Daschle and especially the Judiciary Committee
members like Ted Kennedy, Patrick Leahy, and Charles
Schumer to continue their untiring efforts. These few
gentlemen have managed to block almost all the nomination
that a very unpopular president has sent up. Remember it
is better to have no court system than to have a system
that fosters what we consider incorrect decisions.

Keep the faith. We will overcome this bad decision on
vouchers and eventually usher the minority children back
onto the reservation where we can better select which ones
we want to be our future leaders.