Peoples Students Federation (PSF)

Federal Minister Shahbaz Bhatti Killed in Islamabad

2011-03-04T19:59:00.001+05:00

Following is the Profile of Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti who was assassinated here on Wednesday morning.

Shahbaz Bhatti, son of Jacob Bhatti was born on September 9, 1968 in Lahore, Punjab.

Bhatti joined Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in 2002.

Shahbaz Bhatti was elected Member of the National Assembly on reserved seat for minorities on the ticket of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

He was made Federal Minister for Minorities in year 2008.

Shahbaz Bhatti was again included in the Federal Cabinet with same portfolio last month.

He was one of the founding members of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) in 1985.

He was Chairman of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, Founder and President of the Christian Liberation Front, and the Executive Director of the Pakistan Council for Human Rights.

Shahbaz Bhatti was the first parliamentarian who made history by assuming the Federal Minister for Minorities.

Shahbaz Bhatti also received International Religious Freedom Award for rendering services to the community. He was the first ever Pakistani to receive this award

He was bachelor and have four brothers and one sister. His father died last month in Faisalabad. He was living in Sector I-8/4 Islamabad.

As federal minister, Bhatti took serious steps to ensure the safety, rights and empower religious minorities while in office.

He launched national campaign to promote interfaith and harmony through seminars, awareness groups, and workshop.

PPP leaders condemn killing of Shahbaz Bhatti

2011-03-04T19:56:00.000+05:00

Speaker Sindh Assembly provincial ministers and PPP leaders strongly condemned the assassination of Federal Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti. In a joint statement issued here Wednesday, Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Senior Minister for Education Pir Mazharul Haq, Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza, Provincial Ministers Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman and Zahid Bhurgari, Media Coordinator of Sindh Government and PPP General Secretary Taj Hyder and Chief Minister’s Media Consultant Aftab Ahmed Khanzada have termed Bhatti’s assassination as part of conspiracy against Pakistan.

“The murder is not just against the country’s law but it indeed raises a question on our social values,” the statement says. They have assured of their full support for all the minority communities in the country and appealed them to maintain patience as finally law would prevail upon the miscreants. Minister for Religious Affairs, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah strongly condemned the killing of Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti. Talking to APP, he termed the killing a tragic incident.

He expressed profound grief and sorrow over the assassination of the Shahbaz Bhutti. He said, “no words were strong enough to condemn it.”He prayed peace for the departed soul and courage to the family to bear the loss with courage. Meanwhile, religious political parties condemned killing of Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti. In a statement here Wednesday, leader of Tehreek-e-Namoos-e-Risalat and Jamiat-e-Ulma-e-Pakistan (JUP) Sahibzada Abul Khair Zubair said that Islam offers safety and rights for minorities.

He hoped that the government would not be pressurized in unearthing the culprits involved in the killing of the federal minister, adding that it was very necessary that mastermind of such high profile killing should be brought to the justice. Deputy General Secretary Jamiat Islami Abdul Waheed Qureshi and Ameer JI Hyderabad Shaukat Qureshi also condemned the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti

PPP leaders condemn killing of Shahbaz Bhatti

2011-03-04T19:54:00.002+05:00

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab chapter held a meeting to condole the assassination of Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, at the party headquarters in Faisal Town on Thursday. Under the chairmanship of provincial secretary Samiullah Khan Durrani, the party paid rich tribute to the minister for his efforts to boost the living standard of the minorities in the country.

PPP’s nominated opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly and former senior minister Raja Riaz Ahmad, party’s nominated parliamentary leader in the House Nazar Gondal and other office-bearers attended the meeting. The meeting began with a special prayer for the deceased soul, followed by a series of speeches on the late minister. On the occasion, the party leaders and office-bearers also offered fateha for the founder of the PPP, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and its assassinated leaders Benazir Bhutto and Salmaan Taseer. The PPP office-bearers also shared some of their memories of Shahbaz Bhatti as a true jiyala and a wise political leader who was fighting for the rights of minorities. The party leaders said that Bhatti’s murder was a great loss for the party and the democracy.

Addressing the meeting, Raja Riaz condemned the murder of the minister and said that the attack on Bhatti was not an act of killing, but a direct attack on the PPP. However, the party would continue its struggle for uplifting the living standard of the poor masses of the country, following the vision of Benazir Bhutto, he added. Riaz said that the PPP was committed to continue the politics of reconciliation in the near future in the larger interest of the nation. He said that the PPP-led government was not afraid of terrorists and would deal with such cowardly acts bravely. Riaz said that Bhatti’s murder was against the thinking of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah who had given equal rights to the minorities. Riaz warned that efforts were being made to disintegrate Pakistan, but his party would not give the anti-state elements any space to succeed in their aims at any cost. He urged the nation to follow the commitments of Quaid-e-Azam which he had made with the minorities, like giving protection of life and equal rights to them.

Strongly condemning the murder of Bhatti, nominated PPP parliamentary leader in Punjab Assembly, Nazar Gondal, said that his party was proud of the assassinated minister’s services who, he added, had sacrificed his life for a patriotic reason. He also urged the media to discourage the extremists and terrorists and their activities, as they were more harmful for the country than anything else. PPP Punjab General Secretary, Samiullah Khan, said that some elements were against the progressive and moderate approach of the Pakistani nation and they were behind such terror attacks. He said that his party was committed to continue a progressive approach, which was the only way to help prosper and compete with the international community. He also demanded all the political parties to play their role in the war on terror, just like the PPP. staff report

Mumtaz Hussain Qadri Killer of Salman Taseer

2011-01-04T23:00:00.000+05:00

Pakistani security officials detain Mumtaz Hussain Qadri (C), one of their colleagues who allegedly killed Salman Taseer, the governor of Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab, in Islamabad, Pakistan, 04 January 2011. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on 04 January that one of the police guards of Salman Taseer killed him. The motive behind the murder reportedly was Taseer’s stance on amendments of country’s blasphemy’s laws.

Salmaan Taseer, a businessman and politician who served as the Governor of the province of Punjab. He was a member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and had also served as a minister in the caretaker cabinet of Prime Minister Muhammad Mian Soomro under Pervez Musharraf. He was appointed to the post of governor on 15 May 2008 in place of outgoing governor, Lt Gen Khalid Maqbool (retd) by former President, Pervez Musharraf.

Political career

Taseer started his political career in his student era, as a member of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the late 1960s. He was a part of the movement for Bhutto’s freedom and opposed his arrest and death sentence. He also wrote a political biography on Bhutto titled Bhutto: A political biography (1980).

In the 1988 general elections, Taseer became a member of the Punjab Assembly from Lahore. In the 1990, 1993 and 1997 general elections, he ran as an MNA but lost.

In 2007, he was appointed the interim Federal Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives.

On 15 May 2008, Taseer was designated for the office of Governor Punjab by the PPP-led coalition government.

Personal life

Taseer was married to Aamna Taseer and the two resided in Lahore. They had six children; Maryam, Shehryar, Shahbaz, Sara, Sanam and Shehr Bano.
Taseer was known to be one of the trusted aides of Benazir Bhutto. He was a class fellow of Nawaz Sharif at Saint Anthony School, Lahore. He had obtained a degree in Chartered Accountancy from London.

Salman Taseer was the son of Muhammad Din Taseer, popularly known as M.D. Taseer, who is the first Ph.D. degree holder in the Sub-continent.

Governor Punjab Salman Taseer assassinated

2011-01-04T22:54:00.000+05:00

Governor Punjab Salman Taseer was dead after one of his guards, named Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, opened fire on him when he was going towards his car in Kohsar Market here today.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik confirmed to the media that the guard has been arrested. He has confessed that he opened fire on the governor because of his support to Asia Bibi, he added. Asia Bibi was convicted on blasphemy.

Governoer of Punjab Salman Taseer killed by guard

2011-01-04T19:12:00.001+05:00

Killing of Salman Taseer in the capital was the most high-profile assassination of a political figure in Pakistan since the slaying of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the assassination of his ally and ordered an immediate inquiry into the killing.

Interior Minister Reham Malik said Mr Taseer, 56, had been shot because of his high-profile opposition to the blasphemy laws.

The assassin was a member of governor Mr Taseer's security team, Mr Malik said.

"He confessed that he killed the governor himself because he had called the blasphemy law a black law," Mr Malik said.
Mr Taseer was a member of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party and a close associate of President Asif Ali Zardari, her widower.

He had spoken out against the blasphemy law in recent days. Islamists have defended the controversial law.

Police official Mohammad Iftikhar said Mr Taseer was gunned down after arriving at Islamabad's Khosar Market, a shopping centre not far from his home and popular with Westerners and wealthy Pakistanis.

Local administration chief Amir Ahmad Ali said Mr Taseer died in hospital of his wounds.

Five other people were wounded as other security personnel responded to the attack.

Another police official, Hasan Iqbal, said a pair of witnesses told the police that as the governor was leaving his vehicle, a man from his security squad fired two shots at him. Mr Taseer then fell, while other police officials fired on the attacker. It was unclear if the attacker was wounded.

"I was in the market. I heard the gunfire and hit the ground," said Shaukat, 28, a labourer.

"While running for shelter I saw a man in uniform being grabbed by police. Later on, police officials said he was the attacker."

Police and anti-terror forces surrounded the area and the market closed after the attack. A silver Toyota with a flat wheel was parked on one side. Blood was smeared on the road in two places.

Mr Taseer was one of the most moderate political voices in the ruling PPP, which this week slumped into a political crisis when its junior coalition partner walked out of the federal government.

As well as the blasphemy laws, he was outspoken against the Taliban and other Islamist militants hunkered down in the country's northwest, and which have made increasing inroads into Punjab in recent years.

Mr Taseer made his money as a chartered accountant and had set up consultancy firms and a brokerage house before going into politics.

He was minister for industry and production under former military ruler Pervez Musharraf from 2007 to 2008.

Salman Taseer Shoot Dead Fixed By Almighty

2011-01-04T19:06:00.002+05:00

A powerful Governor of the largest province of Pakistan, the Punjab would be killed by his guard or gum man. But no escape from death where it is to come and when is to come it will; and one will reach there to die. This happened exactly like the Prime Minister of India was killed by her Sikh Body Guard. So, security, guards, blocking the roads for VIP's, putting the common man in trouble, will be of no use if one has to die and his time is fixed no power on earth can save a person.

This is for the VVIP's to think. In lilla he wa ina ilahe rajoon. Salman Tasir was a jolly man. His speeches were worth listening. He was appointed by former President but retained by the present government . He was a sincere and faithful worker of People's Party . It is a great loss for the party. May Allah bless his soul and give patience to his family for this irreparable loss. I will ask Fazl ur Rahman, will you get lesson from this incident and leave the security and trust Allah.? Will your guards save you from the death.? I neither ask others nor care for them. You are Religious Scholar, I am your voter I have the right to ask you. Be a true Muslim and who trust Allah and do not trust guards but The Almighty Allah.

Political Killings Rock Pakistan's Karachi

2009-09-03T16:40:00.000+06:00

Karachi port is the main gateway for Western military supplies bound for Afghanistan and serious insecurity could disrupt shipments and pile pressure on the government.

While the violence has been confined to targeted tit-for-tat shootings, there are fears street clashes could erupt in the country's commercial hub, which is home to its main port and financial markets.

The country's main stock exchange has ignored the violence but analysts say any escalation is likely to hurt the fragile market.

The violence in the city of 16 million people is between Karachi's dominant political force, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and a breakaway faction known as the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, or Haqiqi group, as they vie for influence.

Karachi police chief Waseem Ahmed told Reuters that 26 people had been killed in targeted attacks this month up to Sunday, with most of the dead members of the breakaway faction. Other police officials said five people were killed on Monday.

"Karachi is totally anarchic at the moment as there is a serious command and control problem in the political factions," said Mutahir Ahmed, a professor of international relations at the University of Karachi.

Stock analysts say investors are getting used to daily violence in the northwest, although fighting in the Swat valley northwest of Islamabad has unnerved the market over recent weeks.

But violence in Karachi has a more direct impact.

"If the trouble escalates, that could potentially be the last nail in the coffin for our market," said Sajid Bhanji, a dealer at brokers Arif Habib Ltd.

The index, which has gained about 18 percent this year after losing 58.3 percent in 2008, was slightly up on Monday morning.

Six suicide bombers held in Karachi

2009-09-03T16:37:00.000+06:00

KARACHI: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sindh, with the collaboration of intelligence agencies, has foiled a terrorist plot and arrested seven terrorists, including six suicide bombers belonging to the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), here on Sunday.

The police have recovered three suicide jackets, explosive material, Kalashnikovs, TT pistols, gas masks, heroin, remote control devices, batteries, ball-bearings, electric wires and hundreds of rounds. SSP Muhammad Fayyaz Khan said the CID had received information about the presence of some terrorists in Karachi who were hiding in a house situated in Defence View.The CID, along with personnel of intelligence agencies, conducted a raid late on Saturday night at the house and arrested Mohammed Aziz alias Salman Amir, Mohammed Shahzad alias Pehlwan alias Muna alias Ustad, Ghulam Mohammed alias Umar, Shahbaz alias Mian, Khalid Ahmed Toori (brother of Qasim Toori), Alam Zaib alias Huzefa and Shakeel Ahmed alias Hunzeela.

During a search operation, three suicide jackets, 15 kilogramme of explosives material, four Kalashnikovs, four TT pistols, two gasmasks, two kilogramme of heroin, four electronic remote controls use in bomb blasts, four batteries used in suicide jackets, more than five kilogramme of ball-bearings, electric water of different types and over 200 rounds were recovered. The accused were taken to the investigation unit of the CID.

During the investigation, the accused disclosed that their accomplices were present in Waziristan and Chaman. They were sent to Karachi for fund generation and terrorist acts on government and military installations and officers.

Recently, a huge consignment of arms and explosives, transported by their groups to Karachi for terrorist acts, was recovered by the police in a raid. The suspects disclosed that they had been trying to export heroin to South Africa.

It was further disclosed that they had agents in Malaysia, Singapore, China, United Arab Emirates, Europe and the US, and they use to export heroin to these countries in the form of capsules and through other methods.

The terrorists informed the investigators that a part of the money they collect through the sale of heroin in Karachi was being sent to Taliban Commander Maulvi Abdul Samad in Quetta, Gul Badin in Chaman while the remaining amount was given to the families of their arrested activists.

It was disclosed that they were trained at a camp in South Waziristan and Afghanistan. Khalil Ahmed Toori is the brother of Qasim Toori (Amir of Jundullah) while accused Shahzad alias Muna alias Pehlwan is an expert in making suicide jackets and bombs. He was also involved in attempts on former president Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Shaukat Aziz.

Seven students injured in Sindh Univarsity clash

2009-09-03T16:36:00.001+06:00

Hyderabad: In a clash between two student groups at the Sindh University campus in Jamshoro, at least seven students received injuries and were hospitalised in Jamshoro branch of the LUMHS on Tuesday.

According to reports, war of words was going on between the two student groups belonging to two different parties for the last few days which triggered violence on Tuesday and both the groups restored to heavy aerial firing in the arts faculty.

Sticks and iron rods were freely used in the ensuing clash as a result of which Abdur Rehman Rajar, Shoaib Pathan, Abdul Khaliq Chandio, Mohammad Ali Shah, Ayaz Ahmed, Shahzad Ali and another student were injured.
Jamshoro police registered a case on the complaint of Abdur Rehman Rajar against ten students. The nominated accused included Majeed Khoso, Ali Shaikh, Habib Soomro and Noor Burdi. The situation at the campus is tense.

Meanwhile, an outsider identified as Irshad Arain was caught by the students at Lal Shahbaz boys hostel and recovered a pistol from his possession. He was handed over to the law enforcement agencies. No case was registered against him so far.

MUET: The activists of Jeay Sindeh Students Federation (A) boycotted classes in the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology in protest against the removal of a photograph of their slain colleague, Asadullah Abbasi, from the electronic department of the university.

Reports said that after the recent murder of Asad Abbasi, his photographs were displayed in all the departments. However, on Tuesday morning someone removed his photograph from the electronic department and destroyed it which led to boycott of classes by the students of some departments.

The JSSF-A activists staged a sit-in outside the administration block. They raised slogans demanding the arrest of the miscreants and the killers of Asadullah Abbasi.

The students welfare officer, Ghazi Pariyar met with the protesting students and assured that efforts would be made to identify those miscreants who had removed the photograph of late Asad Abbasi.

Our Khairpur correspondent adds: Two students of Shah Abdul Latif University were injured in a clash between two groups of students in a point bus of the university here on Tuesday.

Reports said that when a point bus from Pano Aqil reached near Therhi stop in the jurisdiction of Babarloi police station, some students tried to embark the point-bus.

A clash took place between two groups of students as a result of which two students namely Asadullah Kalwar and Sikandar Soomro were injured.

The university administration was informed about the incident and the point-bus was taken to the university.

The injured students were provided first-aid at university dispensary and were sent back to homes. No case was registered till filing of this report. Dawn

Int'l Literacy Day on Sep 08

2009-09-03T16:35:00.000+06:00

Islamabad: People across the country will celebrate International Literacy Day on September 08 with special focus on literacy needs.This year, literacy day activities will put spot light on the empowering role of literacy and its importance for participation, citizenship and social development.Public and private departments will mark the day with seminars, workshops and conferences to highlight the importance of literacy.

National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) in collaboration with Ministry of Education and UNESCO will hold a grand seminar on the day, an official of NCHD said.

This day carries a greater significance for the society and calls attention to initiate the global efforts for promotion of literacy and education.NCHD in coordination with other organizations arranges literacy seminar every year to mark the day, he said.

According to an estimate, 860 million of the world's adults do not know how to read or write (nearly two-thirds of whom are women) and that more than 100 million children lack access to education.

Literacy is a cause for celebration since there are now close to four billion literate people in the world. However, literacy for all - children, youth and adults - is still an unaccomplished goal and an ever moving target.

September 08 was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965. It was first celebrated in 1966. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. App

0.15m get admission in polytechnic institutes

2009-09-03T16:34:00.000+06:00

Lahore: About 0.15 million students, the highest after Intermediate groups in general education, opted for admission in the Polytechnic Institutes and Colleges of Technology in the Punjab province this year.

The students with less merit who do not get admission in the colleges get admission in the polytechnic institutes where the merit ranged from 500 marks to 600.

The most popular is the three-year Diploma of Associate Engineer (DAE) in Mechanical, Electrical and Civil Engineering.

The parents from less privileged class prefer to send their children for these courses in Polytechnics.

The C.Com and D.Com in Polytechnic Institutes equal to Intermediate are also popular among the students who wanted to do their B.Com-IT and M.Com.

All these examinations are conducted by the Punjab Board of Technical Education (PBTE).

The admissions in Polytechnic Institutes ended on August 31st where classes too will start from September 1 (today).

According to an estimate some one lakh children were admitted in 200 Polytechnic Institutes and 40 Colleges of Technology in the Province and Azad Kashmir, majority of them enrolled in DAE. The merit this year was high and the administration had to admit majority students in second shift.

As many as 50,000 students were admitted in C.Com and D.Com equivalent to Intermediate in commerce group at the Polytechnic Institutes and some 25,000 in B.Tech. As many as 10,000 students were admitted in other technical and vocational courses of six months to one year duration.

This is in addition to the students admitted in TEVTA institutions whose examination is conducted by TEVTA itself.

Some of the private institutions offering C.Com and D.Com have obtained affiliation from the Multan Board and universities other than the Punjab University for their graduate programmes. A well number of students took admission in computer courses ACCA, CAT, CFA, CIMA etc

The admission trend reflect the desire of Pakistani youth to acquire higher education despite the inflated fee and hard hitting economic conditions. Meanwhile, a fair number of Matriculates desire to search jobs in govt and non-govt organisations, Army, Air force and police establishment according to their eligibility. The nation

Teachers appeal to CJP to take up case in SC

2009-09-03T16:32:00.002+06:00

Islamabad: The daily-wage teachers have appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take up the case of regularisation of their services in the Supreme Court as the case was witnessing enormous delay due to the scarcity of judges in the Lahore High Court's Rawalpindi Bench.

The case was being heard, earlier, in Islamabad High Court (IHC) but after its abolition by the Supreme Court in its July 31 verdict, it was transferred to the LHC's Rawalpindi bench. The contempt of court case on non-implementation of court orders in 2008 in writ petition 2019/2006 was in its last stages and the teachers were expecting the decision in their favour but the transfer of the case left its fate hanging in the balance.The teachers lamented that as the case has been left in abeyance they have no platform where their demands could be heard thus the officials of the ministry has been given free hand to exploit the teachers.

On the media reports that the summary to regularise the teachers working on daily wages has been forwarded to the prime minister, the teacher remarked, "Such claims by the ministry officials use to appear in the media on and off but practically things have not been changed and we have not been informed officially".

They also appealed to ensure the implementation of Islamabad High Court orders in which the court on April 2, 2008 had directed the ministry "to consider the qualified teachers for regularization irrespective of their categorization, ad hoc, on daily wages or on contract basis taking into consideration their pervious length of services against regular posts at earliest opportunity available".

Fearing that they would be victimised during the regularisation process by the directorate officials, they have demanded that the regularisation should be made on the basis of their efficiency report and selection should be based on the performance results of teachers.

Its pertinent to mention here that Federal Minister for Education Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani had directed the officials of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) either to pay the salaries to the teachers or not to get funds from the students during two-month long summer vacation. The vacation has been ended but they were not given salaries.

More than 500 teachers of 19 model colleges in the Federal Capital work on daily wages. Despite that they have been working for years and many of them have spent 10 to 17 years of their lives in these institutions yet their services have not been regularised by the Ministry of Education.

The Islamabad High Court has also issued a stay order, stopping the Ministry of Education and Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) from any fresh recruitment in Islamabad Model Colleges. The nation

Classes in public colleges to commence after Eid-ul-Fitr

2009-09-03T16:32:00.001+06:00

Karachi: The process of admissions to the first year classes in government sector colleges in Karachi is proceeding in a smooth manner, and academic activities would commence after Eid-ul-Fitr.

This was stated by the Director General Colleges Prof. Dr Rafiq Ahmed Siddiqui.

Siddiqui pointed out that the last date for submission of admission forms expired on August 29, after it was extended twice. He also informed that the total forms that have been received are more than 81,000, out of a total of 93,000 sold at 50 designated branches of Bank Al-Habib in the metropolis.He said that faculty-wise lists of the successful candidates would be announced from September 3.

The list of the Computers and Home Economics faculties would be notified first and then of the remaining faculties after a gap of two to three days.

Siddiqui said that there are sufficient numbers of seats in the 124 government sector colleges in the metropolis and that no eligible candidate would be denied admission. He was of the view that there has been no delay in the process of admission despite of late issuance of marks sheets to many of the candidates by the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK).

Prof. Siddiqui said that those whose names would appear in the list of successful candidates would have to seek admission within a seven days' period.

The process of teaching of the new entrants is expected to commence after Eid-ul-Fitr, he said. The news

Seven new colleges to be opened in Rawalpindi

2009-09-03T16:31:00.000+06:00

Rawalpindi: Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has allocated Rs900 million to the city district government for opening seven educational institutions in Rawalpindi and its surrounding areas.

Director of Education (Colleges), Rawalpindi Division, Dr. Muhammad Ashraf said that the Punjab chief minister has already released the amount allocated to the Punjab Education Department for opening seven educational institutions in Rawalpindi city and its adjacent areas.

The previous government had opened number of schools and colleges for girls in Rawalpindi, however, no attention paid on boys' institutions, which were otherwise necessary, stated Dr. Ashraf.

However, under the directions of the chief minister, both opposition leader in National Assembly Ch. Nisar Ali Khan and MNA Hanif Abbasi are working on boys colleges. Out of the total seven new colleges, four would be for boys and three for girls. All the seven institutions would be degree colleges, he said.

The new degree colleges for boys will be opened in Rehmatabad, Dhoke Syedan, Chakri, Chak Beli Khan, Murree etc. The girls' degree colleges have been completed in Rehmatabad, Dhoke Syedan and Chak Beli Khan. While construction work on boys colleges in these areas has been initiated and will be completed in 12 to 18 months, he said.

The education director admitted that due to meagre number of boys' colleges in Rawalpindi, the students passing Matric could not get admission and approach the private colleges. At present only four boys colleges are functioning in Rawalpindi including Asghar Mall Post Graduate College, Satellite Town Degree College, Hashmat Ali Degree College and Gordon College.

The last boys' college opened in Rawalpindi some 40 years ago was Satellite Town Degree College. After that no concerned authority paid attention to promote boys education at higher level, said Dr. Ashraf.

Besides opening of new boys and girls' colleges, the Punjab government has allocated special grants to Satellite Town Women College, Viqar un Nisa College, Girls College in Muslim Town.

Apart from this a new building of Hashmat Ali Degree College is being constructed to accommodate more and more students. With the completion of these projects, the admission problem in colleges would be resolved by 80 per cent, he claimed.

When contacted, MNA Hanif Abbasi said that in his constituency, NA-56 Rehmatabad, one college each for boys and girls would be opened. The opening of boys' college in this locality was necessary. The news

UET plagiarism case likely to be decided in a month

2009-09-03T16:30:00.000+06:00

Lahore: The University of Engineering and Technology Lahore (UET) and Higher Education Commission (HEC) committees are likely to present their final reports on the plagiarism case against Professor Dr Suhail Aftab Qureshi of the Electrical Engineering Department. The UET spokesman said on Tuesday that UET's syndicate had formed a special committee to probe the matter.

The HEC is also investigating whether Teaching Staff Association President Professor Qureshi plagiarised three research papers and some MSc theses. Answering a question, the spokesman said he was unable to confirm any aspect of the case until the investigation committees present their findings. app

National Internship Programme induction

2009-09-03T16:29:00.000+06:00

30,000 fresh graduates to be inducted under NIP
Islamabad, Sep 02: To create skilled youth pool in the country, Ministry of Youth Affairs (MoYA) would induct 30,000 fresh graduates under its National Internship Programme (NIP).

The applications for induction of new interns will be invited through electronic and print media this week.

The unemployed graduates and post-graduates, below the age of 25 are eligible to apply for the internship. The candidates will be appointed after complete verification of their documents from Nadra.
The ministry is working on a comprehensive plan to train the skilled youth so that they can play their role in the development of the country, the official said.

The scheme is aimed at providing financial relief to the fresh graduates and engaging in acquiring additional knowledge and real life work experience.

The project of "Economic Empowerment of Youth" of the ministry would help harness potential of the young educated generation toward the right direction by training programmes and internships.

The ministry has already provided employment opportunities to around 25,000 young graduates through internship programme.

The sources said that the unemployed post-graduates and graduates who have completed 16 years of formal education in any discipline from HEC recognized universities and colleges including external candidates will be appointed for one year with stipend of Rs10,000 per month. After successful completion of one-year internship, interns will be awarded NIP experience certificate.

The ministry is also working to increase coordination among skill development institutes to run youth programmes effectively, he informed. The news

Girls are wiser than boys - Gallup survey

2009-09-03T16:28:00.001+06:00

Girls are wiser than boys, reveals survey
Peshawar, Aug 02: Girls are believed to be wiser then boys revealed in a survey. According to a Gilani Research Foundation survey carried out by Gallup Pakistan, majority of Pakistanis (41%) believe girls are more intelligent than boys studying in the same class. Nineteen percent (19%) consider boys more intelligent while 35% of the respondents said they both are equal.

Five percent (5%) were unsure or gave no response. Interestingly both men and women respondents agree that girls are wiser than boys, 44% of women believe girls are wiser and 38% of men believer girls are wiser. However when it comes to boys there is a minor gender bias, only 15% of women believe boys are wiser compared with 23% of men who hold this view. A third of both men and women, around 35%, refuse to make a distinction and believe boys and girls are equally wise or unwise. A nationally representative sample of men and women from across the country were asked "In your opinion, which is wiser amongst boys and girls studying in the same class?" Forty one percent (41%) claimed girls are wiser, while 19% consider boys to be smarter.

A significant 35% of the respondents believe both boys and girls are equally intelligent and 5% were unsure or gave no response.

Interestingly majority of both men and women respondents agree those girls are wiser than boys, 44% of women believe girls are wiser and 38% of men believer girls are wiser. However when it comes to boys there is a minor gender bias, only 15% of women believe boys are wiser compared with 23% of men who hold this view. A third of both men and women, around 35%, refuse to make a distinction and believe boys and girls are equally wise or unwise.

The study was released by Gilani Foundation and carried out by Gallup Pakistan, the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International. The latest survey was carried out among a sample of 2650 men and women in rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country. F.P report

Arid Agriculture University admission tests

2009-09-03T16:27:00.002+06:00

AAUR admission tests on Sept 3
Rawalpindi, Sep 02: The entry tests for admission in various disciplines at the Arid Agriculture University for new academic session will be held here on Thursday. Some 11,000 applicants would appear in the entry tests to be held under the auspices of the University. The university administration has advised the applicants to follow the procedure strictly to avoid any inconvenience. The classes for the new academic session would start on September 28.

arachi University extended degree exams forms date

2009-09-03T16:27:00.001+06:00

KU extends last date for submission of forms
Karachi, Sep 02: University of Karachi has extended the date of submission for examination forms and fees of B.A./B.Sc. (Pass) and B.Com. regular (Supplementary Examination 2008). A university official said on Tuesday that the failure candidates of 2006 or earlier can also submit their forms and fees. He said that last date without a late fee for these examinations has been extended from September 2 to 4. The principals of the colleges have been asked to ensure that the submitted examination forms are deposited at the Examinations Department of Karachi University the very next day i.e. September 5.

Action against guess papers, tuition centres in Punjab

2009-09-03T16:26:00.000+06:00

Govt keen to ban guess papers, tuition centres
Lahore, Sep 02: The Punjab government is seeking help of the Law Department and Intelligence agencies to take action against publishers of guide books, guess papers and runners of tuition centres in the province, sources in the Education Department said here Tuesday.

They revealed that a meeting in this regard was held at the Punjab Civil Secretariat on Saturday last, which was headed by Rana Muhammad Afzal, chairman committee on guide books and guess papers. The committee was formed by Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif. The meeting was attended by Secretary Law, Secretary Higher Education and Secretary Schools, DIG Special Branch, Chairman Textbook Board, principal of certain colleges and schools, all the stake-holders including President Urdu Bazaar, owners of tuition centres and two publishers of guess papers and guide books.

The sources disclosed that all the stakeholders had assured the committee members their cooperation for banning the publication of such material. An official of the Education Department said that there were eleven publishers of guide books and five of guess papers, who maintain that "it is a big business as every year around 2.2 million students of matriculation and 1.2 million of Intermediate get help from such help books."

When contacted Rana M Afzal said that the stake-holders were aware of the dire results of such publications and they had pledged to help the committee in this regard.

He said that the publication of key books, guess papers and guides was not only harming the quality of education, but the publishers were also breaking into the examination system, to make their guess papers more and more invincible. Regarding tuition centres, Rana said, "The owners of academies believe that parents do not want their children waste time, as the schools did not remain open throughout the year, thus they send them to tuition centres."

"They also advocate that teachers belong to a low paid community and they cannot earn their bread depending only upon their salaries," he said and added, "They have also maintained that learning more and more is the basic right of a student." The matter would be examined thoroughly and it would take time, Rana concluded. The nation

UET reserved seats admission in session 2009-10

2009-09-03T16:25:00.000+06:00

Private institutions step up drive for admission
Lahore, Sep 02: The University of Engineering and Technology (UET) has extended the last date till September 5 (Saturday) for admission in session 2009-10 against reserved seats in the varsity for other provinces and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on reciprocal basis.

Other professional institutions have also extended admission date ranging from Sept 5, 7 and 12. The AJK immigrants can also apply for admission to Pakistani varsities against their reserved seats.

Admission forms for medical and dental colleges could be submitted by October 7, engineering and other courses by Sept 12, and for Agriculture University Faisalabad by Sept 7 to the Additional Secretary Education (Colleges) Muzaffarabad.

Meanwhile, following display of last merit lists on August 31 in government colleges for graduate and postgraduate studies, and near the completion of admission process in Intermediate second shifts, the private colleges and varsities have accelerated their admission campaign for those who could not get admission. Most of these institutions either do not have any charter from the government or are affiliated with the institutions other than the Punjab University, Lahore Board and Board of Technical Education. Legally no other varsity can grant affiliation to any institution operating in its jurisdiction. The Punjab University has also drawn a list of the institutions, de-affiliated by it for not fulfilling the basis requirement. But these institutions are still admitting the students. Similarly, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has also drawn a list of universities and colleges not recognised by it or which do not have any charter to act as varsity. However, these institutions as well whose quality of education and credibility of degree is questionable, are continuing to allure the unwary students due to lack of any administrative machinery to disband them. The nation

Favouritism in Sindh Education department

2009-09-03T16:23:00.000+06:00

Favouritism continues to make presence felt
Karachi, Sep 01: Despite tall claims made by the Sindh government and authorities at the Education department, practices of out-of-turn postings, detailments and hiring of non-technical staff at administrative post are still being carried out, it has been learnt.

Earlier this week, Education Executive District Officer (EDO) Muhammad Ibrahim Kumbhar issued a office order, number EDOE/Esst./CDGK/ (16994-98)/2009, according to which, Mazhar Jawaid, PET, BS-17, was allowed to work in the office of the Assistant District Officer, Education, Elementary (Male), Gulberg Town, till further orders.

Ironically, Jawaid, who is a physical trainer (PET), is posted at the office rather than a school, where his services would be put to better use.

The notification further said that Mazhar Jawaid, PET, BS-17, working in GBLSS Kamyab, Block 16, F. B. Area, against the post of Higher School Teacher is transferred and posted in GBSS, Allama Iqbal, Block 6, F. B. Area, Gulberg Town against Muhammad Saddiq, PET, BS-17. Furthermore, Saddiq was transferred and posted in GBSS, F. C. Area, Liaquatabad Town on administrative grounds till further orders.

In another case, Asadullah Bhutto, a Subject Specialist Cadre (BS-17), Government NJV Girls Higher Secondary School, Karachi was transferred and posted as Assistant District Officer (ADO), Education, (Male) Gulberg Town, Karachi and notification number NoSO(S-1)9-1/T&P/09 was issued to this effect. Despite the fact that the order was cancelled by the authorities, Bhutto somehow managed to get himself restored and became ADO Lyari.

Other subject specialist cadre (BS-17) working as ADOs at different towns include Amer Ali (New Karachi), Zahid Abbas (Gulshan), Bashir Ahmed Abbasi (Keamari), Muzaffar Ali Chana (Korangi), Chaman Lal (Landhi), Azizullah Odho (Baldia), Sadaruddin Ujjan (Orangi), Ali Nawaz Baloch (Bin Qasim), Imtiaz Bhugio (Sadder) and Ahmed Bux Bhutto. Many of these individuals did not qualify for this post, as only a person of administrative cadre can be posted as ADO.

On the other hand, Najma Mukaddem (Shah Faisal), Ali Jan (Bin Qasim), Shahida Hussain (Baldia), Naheed Kausar (New Karachi), are deployed as ADO (Female) by the Elementary Education District Officer (Female) Farnaz Riaz. Riaz herself is a Subject Specialist, but interestingly enough, she does not have the authority to assign anybody to look after the post of ADO. However, the afore-mentioned female ADOs are working without any difficulties, and no departmental action has been taken against them.

Similarly, Zahida Bhugio (Gulshan), Humaria Noorlain (Korangi) and Mussarat Jabeen (Liaquatabad) are Subject Specialists but working as ADOs. Sonaber Gul Unarr (Lyari) and Shaista Shaikh (Jamshed Town) also belong to College Cadre, while Razia Sultana works as ADO Orangi, but is reportedly a close friend of Farnaz Riaz.

Several colleges and comprehensive schools failed to provide good results in the recent intermediate examinations, with one plausible explanation being the posting of subject specialists and college cadres at administrative posts. As a result, seats of specific courses continue to be vacant at these educational institutes.

When contacted Senior Education Minister Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq regarding the issue, he said that this has happened, as there was no policy or system to check it. "For the past decade, there was no policy and no promotions were made to fill the gap. As a result, favourites were placed on seats regardless of their ability for that post," he said.

As many as 3,000 educators, from primary school teachers to associate professors at colleges, have been promoted to fill the gap in the education system, he said, adding that now the education department has come up with an idea, which has the approval of the Sindh Chief Minister, and the department would soon advertise it.

Haq also said that management order is in process, and it would be implemented in the education system soon. "Different cadres would be introduced under this system, and teachers cannot transfer or switch to another one," he said. The management cadre will be uniform and teachers would select a cadre of their own choice, adding that once the policy is introduced in the education system, then this problem will cease to exist.

BISE Malakand board FA/FSc exams

2009-09-03T16:22:00.002+06:00

Swat students' conundrum
Swat, Sep 01: The board of intermediate and secondary education (BISE) Malakand covers the districts of Malakand, Dir Lower, Dir Upper, Bajaur Agency and Chitral. Thousands of students appeared in the FA/FSc exams conducted by the board in April-May 2009. However, due to the military operation in Malakand both Part-I and Part-II exams were postponed though one or two exams of both classes were left. The NWFP government then announced a one-year promotion for all matric and FA/FSc students of the Malakand board.

In July, the Malakand board announced the result of FSc Part-II though the result of FSc Part-I was not released. In late August, the board said that FSc Part-I students would have to appear in the exam in November. Thousands of students like me who took the FSc Part-I exam are in a fix as to what is our status now. If we take the exam in November, when will we attend classes for Part-II? Remember that colleges under the Malakand board close for two months in the winter.

With the Part-II exam in April 2010 does the board expect us to take two board exams in six months? Why should we be punished for something that is not of our making? The NWFP chief minister and education minister are both kindly requested to come to your rescue. -Saima Jan, Govt Girls Degree College Khar, Bajaur Agency (The news)

BCom evening classes at Kamalia College

2009-09-03T16:22:00.001+06:00

BCom students for evening classes
Toba tek singh, Sep 01: Kamalia Government Commerce College students staged a protest demonstration on Monday over failure of the college management to start evening classes of BCom in the college.

They blocked traffic on Kamalia-Chichawatni Road for half an hour and raised slogans against the administration. Representatives of protesters said the chief minister had approved evening classes for the college but it was delayed without any reason. Dawn

PU announced MA, MSc results

2009-09-03T16:20:00.000+06:00

Lahore: Punjab University Examination Department has declared the results of MSc Space Science, Part-II, Annual Examination 2009, MSc Applied Geology, First Annual 2008 and MA Development Journalism, Part-II, Annual Examination 2009. Detailed results are also available at PU website www.pu.edu.pk. F.P. report

FUUAST notifies date for submission of exam forms

2009-09-03T16:18:00.000+06:00

Karachi: The Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology (FUUAST), Karachi Monday notified that the examination forms for B. Sc. (Hon) part-I, II & III and M. Sc. part-I and final could be obtained from September 1 to 15 from National Bank Urdu University branch and submitted at concerned department. The candidates who failed last year in B. Sc. (Hon) part-I and II and M. Sc. part-I and final have to submit examination forms separately for both years. The news

'Makers of Pakistani Literature' wins laurels abroad

2009-09-03T16:14:00.000+06:00

Islamabad: 'Makers of Pakistani Literature' publication series is not only appreciated in the country but also abroad, said Fakhar Zaman, PAL chairman in a briefing on books on life and works of Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Habib Jalib and Iftikhar Arif.

He said Dr Naheed Qasmi, Saeed Pervaiz and Abdul Aziz Sahir had compiled books on Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Habib Jalib and Iftikhar Arif respectively for PAL.

He said these three writers were considered popular figures in the country. He said Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi was known as epoch making writer. "As a writer, he had many aspects. All his life, he struggled against tyranny. He was not only a poet but also an epoch writer," he said.

Qasmi was an ideological writer who did not make ideology merely a slogan but also practiced it. He said Habib Jalib was a brave and resistant poet. His words were so powerful that they threaten tyranny and he wrote poetry in public style, which was very popular. Daily times

Schools, colleges closed today

2009-09-02T16:21:00.000+06:00

Karachi: The Sindh government has announced that all educational institutions in the city will remain closed on Tuesday.

Sindh Chief Secretary Fazal-ur-Rehman said that in view of the forecast for more rain, the government decided that all educational institutions - universities, colleges and government and private schools - would remain closed on Tuesday. Dawn

Campus clashes - Jamshoro Sindh

2009-08-18T07:47:00.001+06:00

It is unsettling that Pakistan's universities are once more emerging as hot spots of violence and confrontation. Last week proved to be a particularly bad one in that respect. On Aug 7, the Jeay Sindh Students Federation-A clashed with the Sindh People's Students Federation at the MUET campus (Jamshoro) resulting in the death of a JSSF leader and the suspension of exams and classes. Three days later, Punjab University became the scene of clashes between the Islami Jamiat Tulaba and the university staff on the issue of setting up admission stalls. There was a dispute between the two parties in both the cases. But more significant than that was the method adopted by the student leaders in addressing their differences. On neither ocassion was a serious effort made to resolve the dispute by talking it over and reaching a compromise. Worse still, the rival groups pulled out weapons and sticks and resorted to physical violence. In Sindh, disciplinary measures have now been taken to restore peace.

There are several factors behind the violence. Students unions have still to be fully restored and various student organisations have not been allowed to function in a democratic and regulated framework where they could learn to operate with a sense of responsibility. Moreover, all the student bodies are closely linked with and influenced, even controlled, by political parties. Thus the students tend to be exploited by political parties seeking to expand their base in the student population. While all this is bad enough, the university administrations make matters worse by taking sides. Their failure to maintain their neutrality and adopt an even-handed approach encourages the side being favoured to become more aggressive. This only exacerbates the crisis.

Mounting KU budget deficit may add to students' woes

2009-08-18T07:46:00.001+06:00

Karachi: Karachi University's administration seems to have taken a grave financial risk when it increased salaries of its employees from its own resources this July, ignoring the huge budget deficit that it claims has risen from Rs140 million in 2007-08 to Rs340.351 million in 2008-09.

With this increase in the salaries, the budget shortfall would further increase next year and could lead to a major increase in fees as well as to a compromise on student facilities, according to sources.

It is worth mentioning that the university's budget document 2009-10 is showing a 20 per cent increase in revenue from own resources. These resources, according to teachers, comprise the university's income from student fees under different heads.

The deficit, according to the KU's budget document, is on account of salary increases of 40 per cent during the last several years for which no supplementary grant was provided. The increase in the cost of utilities has also affected the institution's cash position. The university has not yet received the grant of this quarter starting from July.

The federal government had announced a 15 to 20 per cent ad hoc relief in pay and allowances along with pension in this year's budget. However, no funds have been released to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for this purpose.

Contrary to what the KU is doing, the NED University of Engineering and Technology refused to increase the employees' salaries till the finance division releases funds.

Justifying the increase in the employees' salaries, the KU director finance, S.M. Khalid, said that the KU was a big university with bigger problems and pressures. "Everybody is being affected by the rising inflation. We have asked the HEC to compensate and provide us with a supplementary grant."

The finance managers at the KU believe that the HEC would provide the said amount and there would not be any increase in student fees other than what is proposed in the budget.

At present, the university has about 500 teaching and 2,500 non-teaching staff whose increase in salaries and allowances cost Rs78.012 million. Apart from these expenses, the university has requested an additional grant of Rs47.4 million from the HEC.

Against the proposed recurring budget allocation of Rs1,350.342m, the HEC has approved a sum of Rs981.71 million.

Budget loopholes
An interesting aspect of the budget episode at the KU is that the proposed budget document, prepared by its budget officers, is sent to the HEC without getting it first approved by the finance committee, the syndicate and the senate. This practice has been in vogue for many years while no audit report for years 2006, 2007 and 2008 has been presented in the relevant statutory forums so far.

The senate, which, according to the university code, considers and passes a resolution on the annual report, the annual statements of accounts, and the annual revised budget estimates, has not held any meetings in the last three years and the budget is approved by the syndicate.

According to university teachers, though the practice is not against the university code, as it gives authority to the vice chancellor and the chancellor to take decisions on behalf of the syndicate and the senate, respectively, it definitely opens the door for manipulation and make the process less transparent.

The issue was raised in the last syndicate meeting held on July 25, which decided to set up a committee to bring improvements in the budget-making exercise.

Commenting, the syndicate's nominee in the finance committee, Prof Dr Shakeel-ur-Rehman Farooqui, said: "The committee set up by the syndicate has started working and for the first time the departments have been involved in the budget-making process, as they have been asked about their requirements and expenses in writing. The body will ensure regular meetings of the finance committee that will help prepare a better budget."

About the audit reports, he said the matter was taken up in the last syndicate's meeting and it was decided that the audit reports would be presented before the finance committee after they were finalised by the director-general audit, Sindh.

In reply to a question on long delays in the release of a recurring grant, Professor Dr G.A. Miana, the HEC nominee in the KU syndicate, said that the delay was in fact on the part of the government and not the commission.

On the KU's deficit budget, he said: "It's all manipulation of numbers. The universities show deficit to get more grant. That's all."

Students' interests
According to KU teachers, there has been a sharp increase in student fees in recent years along with the decline in government funding. For instance, the monthly tuition fees of MS/PhD programme has been increased 10 times in three years while its admission fees has been raised eight times.

According to the budget document 2009-10, there was an 11pc increase in revenue from own resources from2006-07 to 2008-09 and there would be a further 20pc increase in 2009-10. The university is expected to earn Rs490 million in 2009-10 as compared to the last year's income of Rs413.650.The university spent only 3.27 per cent of the total released grant of Rs631.645 in 2007-08 on research and survey; 2.68 per cent on the purchase of chemicals and glassware; 2.56 per cent on books and journals. Almost half of the amount was spent on pay and allowances.

"A sorry state of affairs obtains at the university. The administration is increasing fees every year, but providing few facilities to students. The meagre lab recurring grant is a shame which is received after much delay. It is unfortunate that the university has paid no attention to improving old departments when it was getting huge amounts from once thriving HEC. Instead, it set up a number of new infrastructures without developing a sustainable plan for their smooth functioning," remarked a teacher. Dawn

NWFP medical and dental colleges admission test

2009-08-18T07:45:00.000+06:00

11,214 take test for NWFP medical colleges
Peshawar, Aug 17: Heavy windstorm hampered the timely arrangement of entry test for the public sector medical and dental colleges in the NWFP held simultaneously here and at the Abbottabad centre on Sunday.

The test was scheduled to be started at 9.30 a.m. at Karnal Sher Khan Stadium in Peshawar and at the Ayub Medical Complex in Abbottabad. The management and students, however, faced serious difficulty when the windstorm uprooted the tents put up to serve as the examination hall at Karnal Sher Khan Stadium. The organisers managed to erect the tents and start the entry test at 11 a.m.

Due to the situation in Peshawar, the test at Abbottabad too was delayed so that it could be held simultaneously at both the centres to avoid any paper leakage or use of unfair means. A total of 11,214 candidates, including 6,250 male students and 5,700 females, appeared in the test. Students would be selected for admission to the eight public sector medical colleges in the province - Khyber Medical College, Peshawar; Khyber Medical College for Girls, Peshawar; Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad; Saidu Medical College, Swat; Gomal Medical College, DI Khan; Bannu Medical College, Kohat Medical College and the newly established Bacha Khan Medical College, Mardan - and one dental college - Khyber College of Dentistry, Peshawar.

A senior official of the Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency (ETEA), who was present on the occasion to conduct the entry test said that it was held in a fair and transparent manner. He said that the results of the test would be declared within 48 hours and would be displayed on the official website of ETEA. The news

Parallel exam systems in educational institutions Pakistan

2009-08-18T07:44:00.003+06:00

Parallel exam systems to be reviewed
Islamabad, Aug 17: The government on Saturday informed the National Assembly that by year 2010 it will review the existing examination systems running parallel to each other in the country which have created disparity in society.

At present, educational institutions both in the public and private sectors, which are affiliated with government examination boards, follow the national curriculum, whereas there are private sector institutions which conduct their examinations under foreign examining bodies; hence follow their respective curriculums, Federal Minister for Education Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani informed the house in a written reply.

During a meeting of the inter-provincial education ministers held in December 2005 at Karachi, the Punjab education department had proposed elimination of 'O' and 'A' level examinations in the country.

The meeting observed that since 'O' and 'A' level examination systems followed completely different curriculums than the government schools and colleges, they were responsible for creating disparity in the society. Therefore, a suggestion was made by Punjab to eliminate these foreign-based examination systems and replace them with local examination boards.

However, the meeting decided that under the current scenario it was not possible to immediately do away with the 'O' and 'A' level examination systems and the position would be reviewed in 2010.

To introduce uniformity in the curriculum and examination systems, provincial examination boards had already been asked by the federal government to follow one curriculum and uniform system of examinations. Dawn

BISE Lahore Inter part-I & II suppl exam in Oct

2009-08-18T07:44:00.001+06:00

Lahore: Intermediate Part-I & II (Supplementary) Examinations 2009 of Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education (BISE), Lahore, will commence on October 10, 2009. According to BISE result gazette, admission forms without late fee can be submitted till September 10. The last date of the admission forms with double fee is September 17 while with triple fee the last date is September 24.

Karachi University B.A, B.Com, B.O.L, B.Sc Registration forms

2009-08-18T07:43:00.000+06:00

B.A/B.Com/B.O.L/B.Sc external exams forms
Karachi, Aug 17: Registration forms for B.A, B.Com, B.O.L, B.Sc and improvement of division for external examinations 2009 will be accepted till August 29, 2009, with the original fee of Rs1,800, University of Karachi (KU) Registrar Prof. M. Rais Alvi announced on Sunday. The registration forms are available at the NBP and UBL Counter at the KU Silver Jubilee Gate. The forms will be endorsed by the registration (external) Unit Examinations counter at the gate. The news

Karachi college admissions date extendedCollege admissions date extended to 22nd

2009-08-18T07:42:00.000+06:00

Karachi, Aug 17: The last date for admissions to first year classes in colleges of the city has been extended to August 22.

The director-general of colleges, Prof (Dr) Rafiq Ahmed Siddiqui, made this announcement on Saturday.

He said that the date was extended following requests from parents of students that the Board of Secondary Education Karachi had not yet issued mark-sheets among all students.

Therefore, the last date of issuance and submission of placement forms for class XI under the Centralised Admission Policy had been extended to August 22 to facilitate candidates applying for admissions to colleges, he added. App

Education in Hunza

2009-08-18T07:41:00.000+06:00

No doubt Hunza, known for its fruit orchards, lofty mountains, panoramic meadows and breathtaking beauty, is a major tourist attraction, but it is equally interesting to explore the educational initiatives that have empowered the local community there and set an example for other areas.

Those who are familiar with the difficult terrain and relatively scarce resources in Hunza would be pleasantly surprised to know that the literacy rate in Hunza is around 77 per cent. This must have been unthinkable when the first primary school was established there in 1913 by the British in India. The single-most important factor that transformed the educational scene in Hunza was the contribution of Aga Khan III, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, who convinced the then Mirs of Hunza state to place greater emphasis on education.

It was in 1946 that some 16 schools were established. They were called the Diamond Jubilee schools and they set the right momentum for bringing changes to education in Hunza.

The second important initiative came when the Pakistan government started opening public schools in the Northern Areas, including Hunza. The demand for education grew but the number of schools did not meet educational requirements. With people finding that schooling was accessible two more problems were becoming visible: the quality of education and education for girls.

The third important initiative in Hunza was the establishment of a quality school for girls whose sole criterion of admission was merit. The Academy, with hostel facilities, was founded in 1983 when Karim Aga Khan laid the foundation of the academy. He said he hoped that the Academy would, "provide a genuine foundation for self-generating progress in the future". The establishment of the Academy was a strong motivation for the opening of private schools focusing on the quality of education.

The fourth initiative to have an impact on educational life in Hunza was the establishment of community schools. These schools were a welcome addition as they gave the local community a sense of participation and ownership. In 1991 a model community school, Al-Amyn Model School, was established in Gulmit, a beautiful village of Hunza. This school helped re-establish the broken linkage between school and home. Here parents and grandparents are invited to share their wisdom with the younger generation. Parents come to know that their knowledge is not obsolete and that the younger generation can benefit from it. The success of Al-Amyn heralded the establishment of a number of community schools over the years.

The fifth initiative was the establishment of the Karakoram University in Gilgit. A number of students of Hunza are benefiting. The university may also create jobs for the local population.

The sixth factor contributing to the quality of education is the role of the different Aga Khan organisations that have played an effective role in the improvement of education by establishing schools and empowering them through capacity-building measures, and by facilitating students through scholarship. One initiative was the establishment of the Professional Development Centre in Gilgit. The centre helped train a number of teachers from Hunza by offering short- and long-term courses.

The seventh factor is the rising awareness among the local people who have come to view education as the passport to enhanced opportunities in life. There seems to be urgency in terms of acquiring education. Parents in Hunza are convinced that the best thing they can do for their children is to help them get a good education. There is a growing interest in higher education for girls. Parents are willing to send their daughters to distant cities e.g. Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar etc. for quality education. It is an approach that distinguishes Hunza from the rest of the Northern Areas.

Lastly, there is a cordial relationship among the different stakeholders. There seems to be a good working relationship between the directorate of education, the Aga Khan organisations, the local community and foreign funding agencies. It is this collaborative approach that makes things happen.

Hunza's educational story has many lessons for other areas of Pakistan where talent is not properly exploited. It shows us that difficulties and challenges can be overcome if the leadership has political will and if the community is trusted and involved in planning and the execution of educational plans.

The writer is director of Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lahore School of Economics and author of Rethinking Education in Pakistan. -By Dr Shahid Siddiqui, shahidksiddiqui@yahoo.com (Dawn)

Karachi Board : Pre-Medical mark sheets available

2009-08-17T09:48:00.000+06:00

Karachi: Assistant Secretary (Coordination), Abdul Haris Farooqi, Board of Intermediate Education Karachi, announced on Tuesday that mark sheets of Higher Secondary Schools (Class XII) Pre-Medical Group are available now. He said that authorised representatives of the higher schools or colleges affiliated to the board could come and take the mark sheets.

Punjab medical and dental institutions admission test

2009-08-17T09:47:00.000+06:00

Entrance test on Sept 27
Lahore, Aug 12: The entrance test for admission to the medical and dental institutions of the province will be held on Sunday (September 27) while the admission-kit containing prospectus, application and admission forms and an Orientation CD will be available at all medical and dental colleges across the Punjab from August 20.

This was stated by University of Health Sciences (UHS) Vice Chancellor Prof M H Mubbashar while chairing a meeting of the Taskforce on Entrance Test for admission to the medical and dental institutions of the Punjab which was held at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Tuesday. He further informed the members that candidates could submit their application forms from August 27.

He also said that 13 centres would be established in 12 cities for the entrance test adding the government would make special security arrangements at all these centres. The members of the taskforce congratulated UHS on introducing Self-Scoring System in Entrance Test for the first time in Pakistan. They also appreciated government decision to hold entrance test for FSc and A-Level candidates from their respective books and syllabi.

The members of the taskforce included Dr Ali Cheema of LUMS, Prof Eice Muhammad, Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik, Prof Amer Aziz, Dr Naeemuddin Mian, Shaista Pervaiz Malik, Nusrat Jamil, Prof Wasiq Ahmed Khan and also representatives of Punjab Health and Higher Education departments.

Punjab high merit for intermediate admissions

2009-08-17T09:46:00.002+06:00

All times high merit for inter-disciplines admissions
Lahore, Aug 12: The merit for admission to intermediate disciplines in colleges and varsities of the City has increased tremendously as compared to the last year.

As a result even the position-holders or toppers in respective colleges may not get admission to reputed educational institutes like the Government College University (GCU), Forman Christian College University, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) and Punjab College. In the second line of preference are the Government Science College, Government Islamia College Civil Lines, Government Muhammaden Anglo Oriental (MAO) College etc.

The most lucrative GCU and LCWU, which cater intermediate classes, have the highest of all merit.

The GCU which displayed its first merit list on Tuesday registered 974 out of 1050 marks for admission to the discipline of Pre-Engineering. It may drop to a few marks in second or third merit lists. However, last year's merit for admission to Pre-Engineering classes was 782 out of 850 marks.

After Pre-Engineering and Pre-Medical, Computer Science with Physics or Statistics are the potential subjects showing high merit.

The last year's merit in GCU stood at 783, 775, 712, 736, 764, and 723 for Pre-Engg, Pre-Med, General Science, ICS (Phy), ICS (Stat) and Arts (Compulsory) disciplines respectively.

The last year merit in FC College remained 768, 762, 685, 685, 600, 600 for admissions to the disciplines of Pre-Engg, Pre-Med, Gen Sc, ICS (Phy), ICS (Stat) and Arts respectively.

Government Islamia College Civil Lines - 728, 667, 404, 575, 627, 525, 470 in Pre-Engg, Pre-Med, Gen Sc, ICS (Phy), ICS (Stat), Arts and Arts (comp). Government Science College, Wahdat Road - 693, 648, 425, 620, 562, 456, 402 and 635 respectively for Pre-Engg, Pre-Med, Gen Science, ICS (Phy), ICS (Stat) Arts, Arts (Com) and I-Com.

Government Islamia College, Railway Road - 600, 550, 430, 450 and 400 in Pre-Engg, Pre-Med, Gen Science, ICS (Phy) and ICS (Stat) respectively.

Government College, Township - 650, 700 in Pre-Engg and Pre-Med, 550 in ICS (Phy), 600 in ICS (Stat) and 500 in Arts.

Government Model Degree College - 602 & 550 for Pre-Engg and Pre-Med, and 400 in Arts.

Government Dyal Singh College - 530 and 475 in Pre-Engg and Pre-Med, 450 for ICS (Phy), 550 in I-Com and open-merit in Arts. The Nation

Karachi Colleges admissions CAP placement list

2009-08-17T09:46:00.001+06:00

First CAP list to be issued before Ramazan
Karachi, Aug 12: The Centralised Admission Policy (CAP) committee will issue a day before Ramazan the first placement list of candidates seeking admission to the first-year home economics and computer science groups in government colleges of the city, provincial director-general of colleges Prof (Dr) Rafique Ahmed Siddiqui said on Tuesday.

Prof Siddiqui, who is also the chairman of the CAP committee, said that although the last date for purchasing and submitting admission forms had been extended to Aug 15, scrutiny of the admission forms that had been received so far had already been begun by the committee.

Answering another question, he said that over 77,000 admission prospectuses had been sold by Monday while the CAP committee had, so far, received 45,000 admission forms.

He said that 82,000 admissions were given last year in government colleges, and their number would cross the 90,000 figure this year.

Prof Siddiqui said that with a view to accommodating all fresh matric students, the number of government colleges in the city was being increased from 123 to 130.

Sindh University (SU) B.A Part-II exam result

2009-08-17T09:45:00.000+06:00

SU announces BA results
Hyderabad, Aug 13: The University of Sindh has announced the results of B.A pass Part-II of Annual Examinations 2008.

Of 6,098 candidates 4,716 were declared successful with 167 in first division, 4,055 in second and 494 in third division.

Punjab schools summer vacations extended

2009-08-17T09:44:00.001+06:00

Summer vacations extended in Punjab schools
Lahore, Aug 15: The Punjab government has extended the summer vacations limit till August 30, and the educational institutions across the province now will reopen on Aug 31.

The announcement was made by Provincial Minister for Local Government and Community Development Sardar Dost Muhammad Khosa at a Press conference here Friday. Secretary Higher Education and Secretary Schools were also present on this occasion.

It may be mentioned that as per the announcement made by the Punjab government the educational institutions were scheduled to reopen on August 15 (today), but the government had extended the limit, keeping in view the scorching summer heat and the ongoing electricity crisis in the province.

The Minister further said that the government had also requested private schools to follow the decision and open their institutes on August 31, 2009.

When asked that why the Education Minister was not there to announce the same extension, Khosa replied that as the Chief Minister Punjab had directed all the ministers to attend flag-hoisting ceremonies at various districts on the eve of the Independence Day of Pakistan, therefore Education Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman could not make this announcement.

To another question regarding local government system, Khosa said that certain politicians wanted to politicise the issue as they had negative approach towards this issue.

Intermediate pre-medical exams result 2009

2009-08-17T09:42:00.000+06:00

Inter pre-medical results: 114 colleges show dismal performance this year
Karachi, Aug 15: The pass percentage of as many as 114 colleges, including 69 government colleges, of the city in the Intermediate science (pre-medical) annual examinations-2009 remained below 30 per cent. The performance of 43 colleges - 29 government-run and 14 private - appeared to be so abysmal that their pass percentage was between 10 and zero.

A cursory look at the statistics of the results shows that not a single student of a large number of government and private colleges and higher secondary schools could get through the examination in A1 or A grade.

More than 15,500 candidates belonging to 192 (123 government-run and 69 private) colleges appeared in the examination conducted by the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK). Around 12,650 of the candidates were female and 3,319 male candidates.

Attributing the dismal performance to a shortage of teachers and overcrowding in the colleges' classrooms, officials of the provincial education department and senior professors maintained that one should not expect better performance from government colleges as long as these issues remained unresolved.

When the city's regional director (colleges), Prof Ms Munawwar Shafiq, was asked to comment, she said there were several factors behind the poor performance of government colleges but the major one was a shortage of teachers.

She was, however, reluctant to recount other factors.

President of the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association, Karachi chapter, Prof Ather Hussain Mirza mentioned a few which included overcrowding of classrooms, insufficient funds for undertaking experiments in laboratories and a decreasing number of academic days.

Giving a rough estimate, he said there was a shortage of around 1,300 to 1,400 teachers in government colleges of the city. Besides, he added, the existing SNE (sanctioned new establishment) of various colleges was approved long ago when the number of students per class used to be quite less than the current average of 120. "Although it is mandatory under the board's calendar that the ratio of students in a class should not be above 1:80, the condition is often overlooked as 120 students are being admitted to first-year classes in the city's government colleges for the last two years," he pointed out.

Prof Mirza observed that owing to the shortage of teachers neither teachers nor students could manage to complete the syllabus in an academic year.

In reply to a question, he said there was a shortage of English, Urdu, Physics and Chemistry teachers, besides those for different commerce subjects.

Describing the government colleges' laboratory funds as insufficient for experiments, he said that since the funds were released by the education department in two instalments (in June and December each year) the amount released in June often got lapsed, for colleges remained unable to invite tenders for chemicals and lab equipment by the end of the financial year.

Endorsing Prof Mirza's views, Karachi SPLA secretary Prof Iftikhar Azmi said there was also an acute shortage of teachers for social sciences, civics and general history in government colleges. He remarked that performance of government college students could not improve until the issue was resolved once and for all.

IBMS teachers demand regularisation of services

2009-08-15T13:15:00.002+06:00

Peshawar: The teachers of the Institute of Business and Management Studies, NWFP Agricultural University, have demanded of the university administration to regularise their services and approve proper service structure for them.

Speaking at a news conference here on Thursday president of IBMS Teachers Association Shah Hassan said the institute should be given an autonomous status on the pattern of Institute of Management Sciences, Hayatabad if the university administration did not want to accord the status of a complete institute to the IBMS.

Flanked by other male and female lecturers of the institute, Shah said that IBMS was set up in 1998 on self-finance basis. He said the institute had produced several thousands graduates in management, computer and information technology disciplines so far, but its teachers had been working on contract basis without having any service structure.

The teacher said the institute had enrolled around 5000 students, while the total number of students in the 12 departments and two other institutes of the Agricultural University were 2,372.

He maintained that for the 5,000 students of IBMS a total of 104 teachers, including three professors, had been appointed, while 190 teachers were there for the 2,372 students of other departments of the varsity.

He said the teachers of the institute since its establishment had been demanding of the university administration to announce service structure for them, but to no avail. Shah said after the IBMS, universities were set up in Malakand, Hazara, Kohat and Mardan, whose teachers had been regularised, but no step was taken for the regularisation of IBMS teachers. The university administration even ignored the directives of the government.

He said the university had been showing the students of IBMS as its strength to the Higher Education Commission so that maximum funds could be grabbed, but no penny was being spent on the IBMS. The institute was rather a money-making machine for the university as it gave an earning of Rs800 million during the last six years, while in 2009 only an amount of Rs180 million was earned from the institute.

Despite this no step for improvement of the working condition of teachers has been taken. The teachers have even been deprived of ad hoc relief announced for faculty members in budget.

He said the university had been exploiting the teachers. In this time of severe price hike, the teachers are given the minimum salary of Rs11,900 per month with only Rs600 annual increment, which is insufficient to make both the ends meet.

Similarly, the teachers of IBMS cannot avail HEC scholarship, as they are not granted study leave, he added. Earlier, the teachers staged a protest demonstration outside Peshawar Press Club to press the university administration for acceptance if their demands. The news

I-Day celebrated in FJWU

2009-08-15T13:15:00.001+06:00

Rawalpindi: As per tradition, the Independence Day was celebrated whole-heartedly and enthusiastically at Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi, on Friday.

The Independence Day ceremony was held at 10:00am. Vice-chancellor of Fatima Jinnah Women University, Prof Dr Saeeda Asadullah Khan hoisted the national flag.

The event formally started with the recitation from the holy Quran by Aaliya Jawad, lecturer Department of Education, and culminated with special prayers for the prosperity and solidarity of the country.

The vice-chancellor in her address said that August 14 is the day of reviving the promise and commitment to make the country prosperous.

She said that our forefathers had made huge sacrifices to get an independent homeland and now they had to use their fullest capacity to make the country achieve the new destinations of success.

She advised the students to keenly follow unity, faith and discipline, principles of the great leader of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

A prize distribution ceremony was also held to award prizes to the winners of radio drama competitions, organised earlier in connection with the Independence Day celebrations.

Students from various departments participated in the competition with fullest zeal and fervor. The vice-chancellor, Professor Dr Saeeda Asadullah Khan awarded the prizes to the winning students and applauded their efforts.

The first prize in the radio drama competition went to the Department of Islamic Studies while the second and third prizes were awarded to the Department of Defence and Diplomatic Studies and Department of Bachelors of Computer Arts respectively.

Certificates of appreciation were also awarded to the English and Behavioural Sciences Departments acknowledging the volunteer participation of their students in the campus radio VOW (Fm 96.6 Mhz).

The university premises, decorated with beautiful lights, was giving a festive look. Students from different departments of the university paid tribute to the holy land in the form of national songs while the Faculty and Staff members were served with sweets and breakfast.

Later in the day, the third anniversary of the FJWU Campus Radio was also celebrated. Radio VOW (96.6) arranged a live transmission based on Independence Day special programnes from 8:00am to 4:00pm to commemorate the auspicious day of National Independence.

Thirty, special participation certificates were distributed among the students of different departments who have been participating in Radio VOW's programmes on Voluntary basis throughout the year. The nation

PAF Air War College graduation ceremony

2009-08-15T13:14:00.002+06:00

Karachi: A graduation ceremony was held at PAF Air War College to award the certificates to the graduates of No 51 Senior Command and Staff Course. Air Marshal Waseem ud Din, Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Admin) was the Chief Guest.

The Chief Guest awarded the certificates and trophies to the graduating Airmen. Wing Commander Fawad Zahir was awarded the top graduate trophy for overall best performance. While addressing the graduating Airmen, the chief guest said, "PAF is in the phase of transformation and in coming years, technology-intensive platforms and weapons would be inducted.

To allow smooth influx of technology and its optimal utilisation, it is imperative that the PAF personnel are trained on modern lines. Therefore, efforts are being made in all the realms of training to educate the PAF personnel with sound intellectual capacities so that they could carry out their future tasks in an efficient manner. The induction of high-tech technology coupled with well-trained manpower will transform PAF into a very potent force, second to none".

Earlier, on his arrival at the Air War College, the Chief Guest was received by Commandant Air War College Air Vice Marshal Tubrez Asif.

PAF Air War College is the premier institution of Pakistan Air Force, where mid level officers of Pakistan Armed Forces and friendly countries are prepared for assumption of key Command & Staff appointments. The nation

Exam toppers hoist flag across Punjab

2009-08-15T13:14:00.001+06:00

Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said hoisting of national flag on Independence Day by position-holders in the province is an acknowledgement of the hard work and commitment to studies.

On his directions, like provincial metropolis where Ali Murtaza and Hafiz Muhammad hoisted the flag, position holder students of matriculation examination performed flag hoisting during Independence Day celebrations in all other districts of the province.

In Sargodha, student Wajiha Noor Syed of Presentation Convent School obtaining first position with 1024 marks in matriculation examination in Sargodha Board hoisted flag whereas Shoaib Raza of Garrison High School Taunsa obtaining first position with 1005 marks participated as chief guest in the Independence Day celebrations at Dera Ghazi Khan and hoisted flag. Muhammad Mudassar Abdullah of Assofa Model High School hoisted flag at Mianwali. He has got first position in the district obtaining 995 marks in matriculation examination. In Layyah, Muhammad Ali Ramazan Gormani of Government High School Chak No.120 TDA obtaining first position in the district with 996 marks in matriculation examination hoisted flag whereas in District Bahawalnagar, Muneeba Nasir of Sir Syed Girls High School Chishtian with 1005 marks, Baraira Ahmed of Fauji Foundation School Bahawalnagar obtaining 993 marks and Tabinda Noor of Divisional Public School Bahawalnagar obtaining 992 marks who have got first second and third positions in Bahawalpur Board respectively hoisted flag in the district.

In district Chakwal, Muhammad Daniyal Noman of Cadet College Kalarkahar obtaining first position in matriculation examination in the district with 985 marks hoisted flag. Anika Gulzar of Brain School of Sciences hoisted flag in District Sialkot.

She had obtained first position in district Sialkot with 1011 marks. Hafiz Muhammad Arsalan of Educator School Narowal obtaining first position with 994 marks in matriculation examination in district Narowal hoisted flag. Abdul Aziz of Superior Science Academy Muzaffargarh hoisted flag in district Muzaffargarh. He has got first position in matriculation examination in the district with 1007 marks. Muhammad Asghar of Government High School Talkaut, Muzaffargarh who have obtained 890 marks in matriculation examination was also present on the flag hoisting ceremony.

Muneeza Bakht of Fauji Foundation Model Study School for Girls, Fateh Jang, obtaining first position in the district with 994 marks in matriculation examination was the chief guest during flag hoisting ceremony at district Attock.

Zohaib Ahmed of Government Boys High School Haveli Lakha Tehsil Depalpur, who had obtained first position in the district in matriculation examination with 1005 marks, was chief guest during flag hoisting ceremony at District Okara. In district Rajanpur, Yasmeen Khan of Almumtaz Girls Model School Jampur hoisted flag at District Rajanpur. She has obtained first position in matriculation examination with 1005 marks in Dera Ghazi Khan Educational Board. In District Khanewal, Ayesha Ikram of Jhang Scholar School Jahanian hoisted flag. She has obtained first position in matriculation examination with 1014 marks in Education Board Multan.

A disabled student Zahid Ali of Khanewal who obtained prominent position in matriculation examination also attended the ceremony. Muhammad Jahangir Mughal of Sir Syed Scholars Inn who has obtained first position in the district in matriculation examination with 988 marks hoisted flag at District Hafizabad.

Abdul Basit of Government Model High School Bhakkar was the chief guest in flag hoisting ceremony at District Bhakkar. He has got first position in matriculation examination in Sargodha Board obtaining 1017 marks.

Shahbaz Sharif said it was their right, which had been denied in the past. He said that he was pleased to see the self-confidence in them and it was hoped that they would perform outstandingly in every sector for ensuring a bright future for the country.

After performing flag hoisting ceremony along with top position holders of Lahore Board Ali Murtaza and Hafiz Muhammad, the CM said poor educational system was the basic reason of ignorance. "Therefore, provision of quality education is our top priority. Now no student will leave his education incomplete due to non-availability of resources," he added. The nation

Malakand DAE examination | IBMS teachers, NWFP

2009-08-15T13:13:00.001+06:00

DAE examination
Peshawar, Aug 15: The Board of Technical Education has issued roll number slips to the candidates of Malakand division appearing in the DAE (diploma of associate engineering) annual examination, which would start from August 17.

A notification issued here said those students whose one or more papers failed in Part-I, II or III and had received the roll numbers should reach the following centers. The students of GPI Warai would take exam at GHSS Warai and that of GPI Timergara at their institute.

Similarly, examination of the students from Chakdara Institute, Infoworld Batkhela, Malakand Institute Batkhela, Ghandara Institute of Technology Chakadara, and GTVC Chakadara would be conducted at GTVC Chakadara.

Likewise, the students of GCT Mingora, GPI Buner and Malakand Institute of Technology Dargai would take their examination at GCT Mingora, Govt Degree College Swari and Malakand Institute of Technology Dargai, respectively.

Punjab schools summer vacations extended

2009-08-15T13:12:00.003+06:00

The Minister further said that the government had also requested private schools to follow the decision and open their institutes on August 31, 2009.

To another question regarding local government system, Khosa said that certain politicians wanted to politicise the issue as they had negative approach towards this issue.

Preston University singing competition

2009-08-15T13:12:00.002+06:00

Preston University singing competition

Preston University holds singing competition
Islamabad, Aug 15: The students enthralled the audience with their melodious songs in the Inter-university Singing Competition 2009 organised by the Preston University here.

The jam-packed hall of the university echoed with clapping and hooting by youngsters, who kept on applauding the amateur singers from different universities of the twin cities. The audience remained excited throughout the event.

There were three competitions held on the same day, namely the singing competition, dumb charade and a marketing competition titled 'Sell It'. The participating universities included the host university, National University of Modern Languages (Numl), Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi (AAUR), SKANS, Bahria University, Comsats and International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI).

The participants of the singing competition enthralled the audience with their excellent voice quality and complete grasp over the art of singing that was no less than that of a professional singer. A few of them such as Sahiba of AAUR, Iffat Shaheen of Preston University, Syed Bilal of Bahria University and Adnan Ahmed of Numl gave such a powerful performance that the audience at once accompanied them in singing.

Iffat Shaheen sung the beautiful ghazal of Faraz 'Mujh say pehli si mohabbat' without the help of any musical instrument so tremendously that she received a standing ovation from the audience.

The penal of judges for the singing competition included Nazia Hameed, Nauman Khalid and Kaleem A Barlas, who, in their remarks, thoroughly appreciated the participants, saying that they are the real future of the country. Ashir of Iqra University got the top honour in the singing competition while Iffat Shaheen of Preston University and Adnan Ahmed of Numl bagged the second and third positions respectively.

The dumb charade competition was unique and interesting, where one of the team partners was given some phrase or word and he had to act upon it only with actions and no words while his/her partners had to guess the right phrase or word. Preston University Kohat Campus was the only participating team in the competition; hence they were prized without any contest.

Later, the competition 'Sell It' was held to gauge the marketing skills of the students who were given some topics only a few minutes before the act and they had to come up with an advertisement of 45 seconds duration on their assigned topic. Preston University Islamabad Campus got the first prize in this competition while IIUI came second and SKANS got the third position.

Preston University Chancellor Dr Abdul Basit while addressing on the occasion said the varsity ever tries to explore the talent of its students in different creative fields and equally focuses on co-curricular activities. "We have tried to create a balance between the curricular and extra-curricular activities, which is a must for building the balanced personalities of the youth," he said.

Myra Imran adds: To acknowledge the role of media in the promotion of education in the country, Preston University arranged a dinner for media organisations as part of their ongoing activities to mark the institution's Silver Jubilee celebrations.

Representatives of print and electronic media organisations and eminent journalists attended the event. Parliamentary Secretary for Information & Broadcasting Azeem Doltana, the chief guest on the occasion, distributed shields among the media representatives.

Speaking on the occasion, Chancellor Preston University Dr Abdul Basit thanked the media for its continuous support and encouragement. "In the past 25 years, constant acknowledgment from media at every step forward was the major motivating force for the staff and students of Preston University," he said.

The chancellor appreciated the media for bringing a change in the public mindset through its extensive coverage of social issues, adding that it has played an important role in the development of higher education in the private sector.

"This dinner is aimed at acknowledging the cooperation the media organisations extended during this long journey of developing a small institute into an 'A' grade university." He said the journey is not yet over, as the university is committed to continue providing the highest quality education to the country's youth. "It is our mission to develop trained and educated human resource that can contribute in the development of the country."

Preston University is celebrating 25 years of its dedicated services to the country. Starting with only five students in the year 1984, the university today has a large network of campuses in the country with the total enrolment exceeding 8,000 students. The news

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I-Day celebrated in FJWU
Rawalpindi: As per tradition, the Independence Day was celebrated whole-heartedly and enthusiastically at Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi, on Friday.

The Independence Day ceremony was held at 10:00am. Vice-chancellor of Fatima Jinnah Women University, Prof Dr Saeeda Asadullah Khan hoisted the national flag.

The event formally started with the recitation from the holy Quran by Aaliya Jawad, lecturer Department of Education, and culminated with special prayers for the prosperity and solidarity of the country.

The vice-chancellor in her address said that August 14 is the day of reviving the promise and commitment to make the country prosperous.

She said that our forefathers had made huge sacrifices to get an independent homeland and now they had to use their fullest capacity to make the country achieve the new destinations of success.

She advised the students to keenly follow unity, faith and discipline, principles of the great leader of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

A prize distribution ceremony was also held to award prizes to the winners of radio drama competitions, organised earlier in connection with the Independence Day celebrations.

Students from various departments participated in the competition with fullest zeal and fervor. The vice-chancellor, Professor Dr Saeeda Asadullah Khan awarded the prizes to the winning students and applauded their efforts.

The first prize in the radio drama competition went to the Department of Islamic Studies while the second and third prizes were awarded to the Department of Defence and Diplomatic Studies and Department of Bachelors of Computer Arts respectively.

Certificates of appreciation were also awarded to the English and Behavioural Sciences Departments acknowledging the volunteer participation of their students in the campus radio VOW (Fm 96.6 Mhz).

The university premises, decorated with beautiful lights, was giving a festive look. Students from different departments of the university paid tribute to the holy land in the form of national songs while the Faculty and Staff members were served with sweets and breakfast.

Later in the day, the third anniversary of the FJWU Campus Radio was also celebrated. Radio VOW (96.6) arranged a live transmission based on Independence Day special programnes from 8:00am to 4:00pm to commemorate the auspicious day of National Independence.

Thirty, special participation certificates were distributed among the students of different departments who have been participating in Radio VOW's programmes on Voluntary basis throughout the year. The nation

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Function at CDA school
Islamabad: The CDA Model School organised a simple but impressive event to celebrate 63rd Independence Day of Pakistan here on Friday.

The school was decorated tastefully to make the function more colourful, attended by school staff and students. Principal of the school Mrs. Shahwar Ajmal opened the ceremony with the hoisting of national flag, which was followed by national anthem.

The students of the institution presented tableaus and stage shows depicting patriotism and love with their motherland. Speaking on the occasion, the principal advised the students to work hard in their student life so that they could become useful citizens to play their role in progress and prosperity of the country. She also highlighted the importance of faith, unity and discipline as stated by Father of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The news

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On-the-spot mural painting competition: Students paint Pakistan Movement leaders at NAG
Islamabad: Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Friday arranged 'On the Spot Mural Painting Competition' titled 'Pakistan Day Celebrations' among schoolchildren at the National Art Gallery (NAG) to highlight the Pakistan Movement and sacrifices rendered by the people at that time for the independence of the country.

In the competition, students depicted Quaid's life, struggle and sacrifices for the independence of Pakistan. The participants tried to educate the youth about their roles and responsibilities in nation building. Some students used pieces of poetry and Quaid's sayings to make their art more effective.

Some 100 youngsters took part in the competition. They painted photographs of Quaid-e-Azam, Allama Iqbal, their mausoleums, historical buildings, ancient mosques and national flag.

PNCA under 'Freedon Fest 2009' also held a string of other cultural activities including national and folk songs and dances and regional dances of four provinces and Northern Areas in connection with Independence Day celebrations.

Later, a number of artists from different provinces presented a potpourri of folk and national songs and regional dances to highlight patriotism and unity.

Songs: Singers Sara Raza Khan, Javed Niazi, Babar Niazi, Manzoor Malangi, Deeba Sehar, Raza Allan Faqir, Bashir Baloch, Waghma and Ghazala also performed on this occasion. They sung popular folk, national and patriotic songs and received great applause from the audience.

Dances: Artists from NPAG Islamabad, Bhit Shah Group from Sindh and performers from Northern Areas also enthralled jam-packed auditorium with their regional dances in traditional attire. They gave beautiful performances expressing their feelings for their motherland on this auspicious occasion of Independence Day.

Children in the auditorium, who were carrying Pakistani flags, were swirling and swaying to the tune of folk music.

PNCA Director General Tauqir Nasir said such events were aimed at promoting the peaceful culture and festivals of Pakistan. He said by celebrating the Independence Day in a befitting manner they could send a message that Pakistanis were a peaceful nation.

He appreciated the enthusiastic participation of the schoolchildren and artists from different provinces in the Independence Day celebrations.

Nasir said Pakistanis were a brave nation and creation of Pakistan was a miracle that was a result of their bravery.

A prize distribution ceremony was held at the end of the event in which different schools were given PNCA shields and certificates for their participation in the painting exhibition. Daily times

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Intermediate pre-medical exams result 2009

2009-08-15T13:10:00.000+06:00

She was, however, reluctant to recount other factors.

Prof Mirza observed that owing to the shortage of teachers neither teachers nor students could manage to complete the syllabus in an academic year.

In reply to a question, he said there was a shortage of English, Urdu, Physics and Chemistry teachers, besides those for different commerce subjects.

Punjab University BA/BSc suppl exam

2009-08-03T22:24:00.000+06:00

Lahore: The Punjab University has extended the last date for submission of admission forms for BA/BSc Supplementary Examination, 2009. According to a press statement issued on Saturday, the admission forms can nowbe submitted till August 8 with single fee. It added no admission form would be received after the last date fixed for receipt of admission forms even with double fee under any circumstances. The BA/BSc Supplementary Examination, 2009, will commence from October 6. The News

'Facebook, MySpace can lead children to suicide'

2009-08-03T22:22:00.001+06:00

Lahore: Social networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace are leading teenagers to build "transient relationships" that leave them unable to cope with reality, Archbishop Vincent Nichols has told The Sunday Telegraph.

In an interview following the suicide of a 15-year-old schoolgirl after she was bullied on another networking site, Bebo, the Archbishop of Westminster said the Internet and mobile phones were "dehumanising" community life.

"I think there's a worry that an excessive use or an almost exclusive use of text and emails means that as a society we're losing some of the ability to build interpersonal communication that's necessary for living together and building a community," he said. "Facebook and MySpace might contribute towards communities, but I'm wary about it," he said. He warned that the sites were contributing to a trend for teenagers to put too much importance on the number of friends they have and that this could ultimately lead to suicide.

"It's an all or nothing syndrome that you have to have in an attempt to shore up an identity; a collection of friends about whom you can talk and even boast. But friendship is not a commodity, friendship is something that is hard work and enduring when it's right," he added.

Archbishop Nichols also pointed at moves to legalise assisted suicide as particularly worrying and called on the government to do more to support the traditional family. Daily times

Scholarships plan for Fata, Baloch students faces hindrance

2009-08-03T22:20:00.000+06:00

Islamabad: Ministry of Education's project titled 'Quality Educational Opportunities for Students of Balochistan & Fata' is facing hardships due to the lack of resources and required staff.

The main purpose of the project is to remove the backwardness and sense of deprivation of the people of Balochistan and Fata by giving their students opportunities at the national level to channelise their talent for the country's development.

The paper work on the project was started in 2006 and the project was approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on February 27, 2007 at a cost of Rs481 million to admit 1,650 students from Fata and Balochistan on scholarship basis. The ministry offered 100 scholarships for cadet colleges, which include 40 students from Fata and 60 from Balochistan, while 230 scholarships were for technical education, which include 92 students from Fata and 138 from Balochistan.

According to reliable sources in the ministry, the project is now facing severe difficulties due to the absence of a proper mechanism, resources and staff. "Project Management Units (PMUs) were established in Islamabad, Quetta and Peshawar in order to monitor the funds' spending and students' performances but the selection of staff is still under process for all PMUs except Balochistan," the source revealed adding that the approved PC-1 provides for 48 posts for all three PMUs, however, only two posts have been filled in the Islamabad PMU and the situation is no different in Peshawar. "Only the posts of project director (BPS-20) and deputy project director (BPS-19) have been filled so far and that too with no proper office for the purpose," he said.

The source further revealed that the scholarships are totally merit based and many of the students tried to take advantage of their domiciles despite receiving their education from top educational institutions of the country. "It is not fair to place a student of some high level institution in competition with students of the downtrodden areas of Balochistan," he said and stressed the need for 'Scholarship Management Committees' to look into selection criteria, funds availability and other related matters. "Only those students should be granted scholarships, who have received their education from that particular area." He further suggested that there should at least be a quota for settlers or non-settlers in Balochistan as in the case of Fata where only 20 per cent non-settler students could apply for the scholarships.

Highlighting the effects of inflation on the scholarships, the source said that now the boarding expenses of students besides their tuition fee have increased manifold during the last year and it is difficult for the government to provide 100 per cent scholarships to the students. "Previously, the scholarship cost of one student was Rs106,000 per annum that has increased up to Rs250,000 besides the boarding charges," he said.

He said last year, they faced immense difficulty in providing fee to the educational institutions in time due to the financial crunch and many of the institutions warned to expel students, but finally, the funds were released, which secured the future of the students.

Deputy Director PMU Islamabad Ejaz-ur-Rehman, said it is true that the project is facing hardships due to the non-availability of resources and staff, yet they were able to meet hundred per cent targets during the previous years. "We are successful in providing in-time scholarships to the students while striving hard to remove the bottlenecks of the project," he said. He said they are planning for an important meeting with Secretary Education Abdur Rauf Chaudhry to look into the project's bottlenecks and resolve them in the implementation. The News

BISE Lahore Matric suppl from Sept 12

2009-08-03T22:19:00.000+06:00

Matric suppl from Sept 12
Lahore: The supplementary examination for Secondary School Certificate (matriculation) 2009 will commence on September 12, 2009. According to the result gazette, issued by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Lahore on Saturday, the last date of depositing the examination fee and submission of form is
August 18, 2009, with single fee, August 25, 2009, with double fee and August 31, 2009, with triple fee. BISE Lahore Controller of Exams Prof Manzurul Hassan Niazi said the recent announcement by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif regarding elimination of examination fee was applicable only on regular students of public sector schools.

BISE Bahawalpur announces result of matric annual examination 2009

2009-08-03T22:17:00.000+06:00

Bahawalpur: Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Bahawalpur has announced the result of matric annual examination 2009, here on Saturday.

According to the result notification, Muniba Nasir roll no. 71609 of Sir Syed Public Girls School Chishtian secured 1005 marks and stood first. Muhammad Suleman roll no. 120504 of Madars-Tul Binat High School Sadiqabad and Hassan Amin roll no. 120588 of Bismillah Higher Secondary School Sadiqabad secured 998 marks and both stood second.

Muhammad Hamad Ejaz roll no. 74995 of Sir Syed Public School Chishtian and Tabinda Rashid roll no. 71118 of Fauji Foundation Model Girls School Bawalnagar secured 993 marks and both stood third.

Total 64,453 candidates appeared in the examination and 38,380 candidates passed the examination. Pass percentage comes to 59.55 percent.

Provincial Minister for Special Education Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar was the chief guest on this occasion. App

Catholic schools and colleges to remain closed for three days

2009-08-03T22:16:00.000+06:00

Karachi: All schools and colleges which are part of the Catholic Board of Education will remain closed for three days, from Monday (today) to Wednesday. This was announced by Catholic Board of Education President Archbishop Evarist Pinto, while strongly condemning the barbaric atrocities on Christians in Gojra and surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Minorities Forum for Human Rights (PMFHR) has announced that it will not observe International Minority Day, which falls on August 11. Moreover, on Independence Day (August 14), they will tie black armbands and stay away from all activity associated with the day, All-Pakistan Minority Alliance Sindh Secretary general (PMFHR coordinator and former Sindh Assembly member) Michael Javed said on Sunday.

On behalf of the minority communities, he appealed to President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, and the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhry, to take stern action against the people involved in this incident.

Javed was briefing the local media at the Karachi Press Club regarding the Gojra violence. Other members and representatives of religious minorities were present to express their solidarity with the Christians.

He lamented that none of the accused had been arrested yet, nor had a single MNA, MPA, civil society member or human rights group raised a voice against this incident. "The miscreants used dangerous chemicals possessed by the military and extremists only. They killed people and animals with it and the police failed to arrest anyone," he added.

He further said that it need to be investigated as to who provided them the deadly chemicals which ignited immediately, burning people and turning houses into ashes. Houses, cattle farms as well as water suctions pumps were turned into ashes and no serious efforts were made to save human lives or property. The mobs also looted valuables from homes, he added.

As many as seven people of a family were burnt alive and many injured by the assailants who belonged to nearby villages, Javed said, adding that the mob did not bother to investigate the matter and even attacked people at a wedding ceremony.

According to the PMFHR, 45 people initially attacked the Christian community and called others to help them. "The attackers accused the local Christians of having desecrated the Holy Quran, which was not true at all. We respect the Holy Quran in the same manner as we revere our Holy Books," Javed told journalists.

This was the third incident of its kind within a month in Punjab and unfortunately, no one has been arrested and produced in the courts yet, he said, adding that inaction on the part of the police and the local administration in the past had compounded the problem because certain elements thought that they could get away with such act.

Catholic Association General Secretary Sardar Iqbal also condemned the brutal act of killing six Christians living in Gojra and setting ablaze more than 50 houses in the Christian Colony.

"We salute our Prime Minister, the President of Pakistan who called on the Chief Minister of Punjab to take immediate action to protect the Christian colony at Gojra and bring the culprit to justice," he said.

Iqbal made a firm appeal to all Christians to remain peaceful and united, and hope that the government of Pakistan will protect Christian colonies scattered all over Pakistan.

BSEK announces dates for enrolment forms

2009-08-03T22:14:00.000+06:00

Karachi: The Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) has announced on Sunday that the enrolment forms of Class IX, annual examination–2010 for Science and General Group (Regular) and registration forms of SSC Part I, Private Candidates would be accepted from August 10 to October 17, 2009.

Secretary, BSEK, Hoor

Mazhar said that candidates would enrol with the board and submit their forms without late fee from August 10 to September 12 at the NBP, or HBL or Askari Commercial Bank (Board Office Booths).

However, late fee Rs100 would be charged from Sep 14 to Sep 30, 2009 and late fee Rs200 would be collected from Oct 1 to Oct 17, she added.

The enrolment forms may also be obtained from General Store of the Board against payment of cost of forms required through pay order, in favour of Secretary, BSEK, she added.

According to her, fee statement and attested photo copy of recognition, renewal letter, certificate valid upto 2009-2010 could be deposited in accounts section of the Board (Room No 4) along with required fee in the form of 'Pay Order' in favour of the Secretary, BSEK.

Class X new textbook of mathematics in 2010

2009-08-03T22:12:00.000+06:00

BSEK sets rules for exams
Karachi, Aug 03: The academic committee of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) has announced that the new textbook of mathematics volume-I and II for Class X (science group) will be applicable in the 2010 academic

year and the papers will be prepared from both the volumes.

The decision was taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of the board's chairman, Brig E. M. Shafiullah Qureshi on Friday.

It was also decided that the old physics (theory) book of Class X containing 19 lessons would be used for 2010 examination as was done in the 2009 examination. Ppi

Psychologists advise parents to allay kids

2009-08-03T22:09:00.001+06:00

Psychologists advise parents to allay kids' fears and communicate with them attentively
Islamabad, Aug 03: All public and private schools are re-opening putting an end to long summer vacations but majority of kids are not warm to the idea of going back to school for many reasons. Some feel difficulty getting up early in the morning, dislike travelling in school van, dread tests, homework and assignments while for others class is a bully.

It all now depends on the parents to allay fears of their kids telling them that the end of summer means going back to school. Though it is often a welcome change for many parents to send their kids school after a long summer, some are a little sad at the thought of not having their kids with them in mornings.

Ayesah Rahim Ghazi, a Grade II student said that she was overy joyed going back to school, whih she had missed during vacations. "I felt bored as I missed all my classmates, teachers and enviroenment of school," she said.

Hashim Raza, a Grade III student, said it was hard for him to go to school as he had developed a habit of getting up late during vacations. "I want to go to school after August 14. I sleep late so I get up late too. I am trying to alter my sleeping schedule," he said.

"I am quite nervous because of school atmosphere; teachers are rude to me and they beat me up quite often. I am not willing to go back to school," said Waqar Hassan, a Grade II student.

"If your child is reluctant to go to school, discuss with him/her various school activities such as exciting school trips, swimming, painting, music lessons, funfairs, arts and craft classes etc. Remind your child of all old friends," Dr Sarkar, a psychologist at PIMS, said.

She said parents would have to communicate with their kids attentively. "If your child is unusually tearful and tense, talk to him gently and try to discover root of the problem. If he is afraid of anything of if he lags behind in school lessons, take steps to ensure his safety and dignity. Make sure all his homework is done. Talk to teachers, school principal and van driver if they can be of any help," she explained.

Dr Rizwan Taj, dean of Psychology Department at PIMS, advised parents to get their kids to wake up early at least two weeks before the end of vacations. He said some children took more time to adapt to routine than others. "In a week or two, all of their fears and reluctance will be gone and they'll be comfortable and happy in school," he said.

Sumaira Kanwal, a schoolteacher, said it was responsibility of parents to get their children involved in study. "Shifting from vacations to school routine is less troublsome for those kids who have been kept busy in studies during vavations," she said. Daily Times

All government, private schools opened in Sindh

2009-08-03T22:08:00.000+06:00

Schools open
Karachi, Aug 03: All government and private schools had opened after the summer vacation on Saturday, the Sindh education secretary has said.

The secretary, Rizwan Memon said those schools which observed a two-day weekly holiday - Saturday and Sunday - would open on Monday (today).

There was some confusion about whether parents should send their children to school on Monday as reports in a section of the media had stated that schools would be closed on Monday due to an extension in the summer vacations. Dawn

Azad Jammu Kashmir SSC exam result 2009

2009-08-03T22:06:00.000+06:00

Boys clinch top positions in AJK SSC exam result
Mirpur, Aug 03: Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Azad Jammu Kashmir announced result of annual Secondary Schools Certificate (SSC) examination with pass percentage of 54.31 here on Saturday.

Mehtab Ahmed son of Zaheer Ahmed (roll no 126359) of

Read Foundation School Charhoie (Kotli district) secured first position overall by securing 1011 out of a total of 1050 marks.

Similarly Muhammad Zulqarnain s/o Nawab Ali (Roll No 125253) of High School Rajdhani, Kotli, secured second position by obtaining 1001 marks and Ms. Anum Habib d/o Abdul Habib (Roll No 101560) of Pak Kashmir Institute of Computer Sciences, Mirpur secured third position by obtaining 995 marks. All these first three positions holding students in the entire Board belonged to the Science group.

A special ceremony was held in the offices complex of the AJK BISE to announce the results. AJK Minister for Education (Colleges) Sardar Muhammad Naeem Khan was the chief guest on this occasion.

Besides the Education minister, Chairman of the Board Prof Dr. Muhammad Sagheer Kiyani and Controller Examination (Schools) Raja Abdul Rehman and Secretary Prof. Raja Muhammad Ayaz announced the names of the successful students who secured top 20 positions in the examination.

Among the students securing first three positions in General Group Ms. Maryam Ali d/o Ali Asghar (Roll No 134496) of Girls High School Samlotha Mirpur, Ms. Zeenat Rafique d/o Muhammad Rafique (Roll No 134780) of Girls High School Mohra Kanyal, Mirpur and Ms. Mehwish Shabbir d/o Muhammad Shabbir (Roll No 134784) of Girls High School Mohra Kanyal, Mirpur secured first, second and third positions in the examination in entire board by bagging 944, 924 and 918 marks respectively.

The AJK Education minister, while speaking on the occasion said that the AJK government will launch a plan for ensuring quality education to meet contemporary and future challenges.

BISE Lahore 2009 Matriculation result: 62 percent pass

2009-08-03T22:04:00.000+06:00

Boys tie for top Matric honours
Lahore, Aug 03: Boys received the top three overall positions in the Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) 2009 Matriculation result, announced on Saturday.

The result was announced in a

ceremony organised by the Lahore Board and held in honour of the position-holders at Alhamra, The Mall. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was the chief guest.

Successful candidates: According to the result, 198,899 students appeared in the examinations and 123,291 students (62 percent) passed. Examinations Controller Professor Manzoorul Hassan Niazi announced the result.

The overall first position was a tie between Hafiz Muhammad of Government Central Model High School, Lower Mall Lahore and Ali Murtaza of LDA Model High School For Boys, Allama Iqbal Town Lahore (1,013 marks). The second overall position was awarded to Amna Tahir of Divisional Public School For Girls Model Town, Lahore (1,012 marks). The third overall position was a tie between Muhammad Bilal of Government High School, Kharianwala (Sheikhupura) and Farwa Pervaiz of Unique High School for Girls, Muslim Town Lahore (1,011 marks).

In the Science Group (boys), first position was awarded to Hafiz Muhammad and Ali Murtaza. Muhammad Bilal was second in the group and was awarded overall third position. Muhammad Naveed Alam of Government High School Chauburji Gardens Lahore was third (1,008 marks). In the Science Group (girls), Amna Athar received the first position and the overall second position. Farwa Pervaiz was awarded the second position and was third overall.

Anam Manzoor of Divisional Public School for Girls, Model Town was third (1,009 marks).

In the Humanities Group (boys), first position was a tie between Hafiz Muhammad Aqeel of the Islamic Public High School for Boys, Green Town Lahore and Muhammad Abu Bakar Ajeeb of Kasur Model High School for Boys (921 marks). Muhammad Naveed Asif of Government High School, Neharwala received the second position (919 marks). Iqbal Shahab, a private candidate, was third (906 marks). In the Humanities Group (girls), Qudsia Shahid of Farooqi Girls High School, Ravi Road Lahore was first (970 marks) and Faiza Irfan was second (960 marks). Atiqa Sajid received the third position (959 marks).

Prizes: Lahore Board Chairman Dr Anwar Kashmiri announced cash prizes and medals for the students. He said the first overall position-holder would receive Rs 20,000, a gold medal and a Pentium-4 computer, the second overall position-holder would receive a silver medal, Rs 15,000 and a Pentium-4 computer and the third overall position-holder would receive Rs 10,000, a bronze medal and a Pentium-4 computer.

The position-holders of the groups would also receive Rs 20,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.

Rawalpindi Board SSC annual examination result 2009

2009-08-03T21:58:00.000+06:00

RBISE SSC annual examination 2009 : Boys outshine girls by securing top three positions
Rawalpindi, Aug 03: Boys clinched overall top three positions in Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Annual examination 2009 of Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (RBISE) on Saturday.

RBISE Chairman Abdul Hafeez announced the SSC exam results here at Divisional Public School Shamsabad. Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Saeed Mehdi was the chief guest on this occasion.

Muhammad Arslan Khan (Roll No 140416) of Radiant Secondary School for Boys Iqbal Town, Rawalpindi got the overall first position in the division by securing 1013 marks out of 1050 marks. Sajjad Hussain (Roll No 140417) and Syed Sanaullah Shah (Roll No 140418) of the same school secured overall second and third positions by getting 1010 and 1009 marks respectively. All these students were from Science Group.

A total of 106,349 candidates appeared in the exam under the new course while 10,207 under the old course. The pass percentage of new and old course students stood at 62 percent and 65 percent respectively.

Under the new course girls fared better than boys with a pass percentage of 68.85 percent, whereas boys pass percentage stood at 55.89 percent. Under the old course boys pass percentage stood at 68 percent against girls' 60 percent pass percentage.

Among Science Group girls, Shamsa Kanwal (Roll No. 127206) and Sana Ghaffar Bajwa (Roll No. 127207) of Asif Public Girls Higher Secondary School Al Noor Colony, Rawalpindi stood first by obtaining 1008 marks each, while Anam Pervez (Roll No. 124176) of Siddique Public School, Rawalpindi got second position by obtaining 997 marks and Munaza Bakht (Roll No. 083156) of Fauji Foundation Model Secondary School for Girls, Fateh Jang, Attock, remained third by obtaining 994 marks.

Among General Group boys, Muhammad Ijaz (Roll No. 172982) of Darul Aaloom Mohiul Islam Siddique, Tehsil Kallar Sayedan, District Rawalpindi and Jamal Mustafa (Roll No. 185771), a private candidate, shared the first position by securing 915 marks. Qaiser Nadeem (Roll No. 186251) of Barrack No 5/8, Central Jail, Adiala Rawalpindi got second position by obtaining 908 marks, while Muhammad Zia-ul-Karam (Roll No. 158957) of Darul Aaloom Muhammadia Rizvia, Pind Daden Khan stood third by obtaining 905 marks.

In General Group girls, Ayesha Inaam Qureshi (Roll No. 163509), a private candidate, stood first by obtaining 927 marks, Farrah Tufail (Roll No. 081627) of Government Girls High School Hazro, Attock got second position by getting 922 marks and Bushra Liaquat (Roll No. 175804), private candidate got third position by obtaining 920 marks.

Addressing on this occasion, Mehdi said the Punjab government was giving top priority to the education sector and encouraging students by giving them cash rewards, medals and some other facilities including scholarships. He said they had increased the education budget by 60 percent. He said the government was also encouraging private sector educational institutions.

He said the government was paying full attention to provide quality education to children of the poor people. He said to achieve this objective the Punjab chief minister (CM) had decided to establish Danish School System in all tehsils of Punjab for boys and girls.

He said the CM would soon lay foundation stone of the RBISE building, which would be completed at a cost of Rs 800 million.

Later, he awarded medals and cash prizes to the top position holders. Rs 25,000 cash, a computer and gold medal was awarded to the overall first position-holder, Rs 15,000 and silver medal to the second position-holder and Rs 10,000 cash and bronze medal to the 3rd position-holder.

Medals and shields were also awarded to girl and boy students who got position in their respective groups.

RBISE Secretary Humayun Iqbal, Controller Examinations, MNA Malik Ibrar, MPA Raja Hanif Advocate, heads of educational institutions and a large number of parents were also present on this occasion. Daily Times

Why appoint PhDs as administrators?

2009-07-31T08:09:00.000+06:00

Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif recently lamented the lack of research at institutes of higher learning, expressing dissatisfaction over the low number of PhD teachers at the Punjab University.

Giving a proof as to how importanta PhD teacher was for the government, he even announced "If the PU succeeds in getting PhD faculty members' ratio from 35 to 100 percent in coming five-years, the government will provide Rs 100 millions annually to the varsity."

Seen in this context, the appointment of PhD degree holders on various administrative posts by the Punjab government is certainly no less than enigma.

At present, various administrative posts, including those at different educational boards, other autonomous bodies and different wings of education department have been occupied by PhD degree holders. The colleges are no exception as most of these are being headed by PhD teachers.

A few examples of PhD degree holders serving on administrative posts include Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore Chairman Prof Dr Akram Kashmiri, Additional DPI College Dr Tariq Jaleel, Director Colleges Faisalabad Division Dr Farkhand Shakeel, Dr Asghar Chaudhry, the principal of the Government College of Science Wahdat Road, Dr Zulfiqar Ali Rana, the principal of the Government College for Boys Gulberg and Dr Kaleem Ahmed Sipra, the principal of Government Dyal Singh College and many more.

The stakeholders are of the view that PhD degree holders serving on administrative posts are 'wasting' the resources the government had spent on them in term of provision of opportunities of higher learning. "The situation becomes worse if a foreign qualified teacher is posted against an administrative position," they remark.

A college teacher requesting anonymity said: "Administration is undoubtedly different from teaching and one having administrative responsibilities cannot return to teaching in the true sense." He said besides PhD allowance, one appointed on administrative post also received a lucrative salary package. "In this situation, everyone prefers to be part of administration and avoid his/her real job of teaching and research," he said.

There is also another argument in favour of posting PhD college teacher on administrative posts. A group believes that owing to lack of facilities almost no research work is being done at colleges. "Our colleges are devoid of research culture," remarked another teacher. He, however, said PhD faculty members at colleges could be of great help for students by training them about research. "What is use of PhD degree holders if such people are neither teaching nor engaged in research related activities," he questioned.

Academic circles are of the view that the government should form a policy in this regard so that maximum benefit could be achieved from PhD degree holders.

The Higher Education Commission has declared that Dr Farah Malik of Psychology Department, Government College University (GCU) Lahore would receive the Award for the Best University Teacher of year 2008.
She will be presented a certificate and cash prize of Rs 100,000 on the occasion. GCU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Aftab has commended Dr Farah Malik for achieving the award and has hoped that she would continue enhancing her academic and research activities in the realm of Psychology in future as well. -lachvee@gmail.com (The News)

Punjab University BA/BSc registration 2010

2009-07-31T08:08:00.000+06:00

BA/BSc registration
Lahore, July 20: The Punjab University (PU) on Sunday said July 31 was the last date for registration of private candidates for the BA/BSc Annual Examination, 2010, with double fee, Rs 3,200. In a press statement, a PU spokesman said the candidates must write their addresses on the forms instead of addresses of their private colleges, academies or any friend/relative, otherwise, the forms would be rejected.

Dr A. Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (KIBGE), Karachi

2009-07-31T08:06:00.000+06:00

Karachi: In a clean and tidy room in spacious Dr A. Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (KIBGE), Karachi, sits Prof. Dr Abid Azhar, a distinguished Pakistani scientist, prominent educationist and Co-Director General of the Institute.

His grayish hair and intelligent eyes behind his glasses give an impressive look as her proceeds to explain the nature of his institute's work. "This institute was established in 2003 with an aim to produce quality research which would be at par with research output of any laboratory of similar nature in a developed country," he said.

"Like any other institution KIBGE too has teething problems. It has to acquire equipments, manpower and infrastructure before it can realize its potential," he said.

"I believe we have achieved it partially. We do have state-of-art equipments. We are in the process of acquiring human resource which is not an easy job and perhaps we have a clear direction of purpose," he said.

Born on March 15, 1955, in Karachi, Dr Azhar did his HSC from City College, Karachi in 1970, B.Sc (Honours) from the University of Karachi in 1973 and M.Sc in Biochemistry in 1974. He has the distinction of bagging second position in M.Sc examinations.

He was offered a scholarship from the prestigious National University, Canberra, Australia from where he did his doctorate in 1994. He also holds a post graduate diploma in Statistics.

As a student Azhar was quite active in progressive student politics and was one of the founding members of Young Writers Forum that was established by left-wing youth in the early 1970s. "You can see a marked difference between today's students and the students of the 1970s. We were not only aware that Chilean President Salvador Allende was assassinated by the CIA because he nationalized copper mines but we also organized public meetings in Karachi to show solidarity with President Allende and Pablo Naroda. Today you will hardly find a student who knows what's going on in Nicaragua," he said.

Referring to the education system as it

existed in early 1970s and today, he said the greatest source of information in yesteryears was the library while today almost all information is available online. "But despite that the education system in Pakistan has registered marked signs of deterioration," he said.

"Previously the best students came from government schools; now only those students enroll themselves in government schools who fail to get admission anywhere," he said.

"You will witness another development: Students simply don't go to colleges and heavily rely on tuitions. The culture has shifted from acquiring education at institutions to tuition centres," he lamented.

He said during the last 30 years the nurseries that provided basic education have seen a marked downward slide and primary education has been totally ignored by the planners.

"You see the problem is not that our students have low IQ; the problem is that they are being taught in such a way that their creativity is never channelised. Neither do they get any career guidance nor are they allowed to question and show their curiosity. Rote learning is the order of the day in Pakistan that is extremely injurious for young minds," he said.

"At KBGE we are focusing on research in agricultural biotechnology, medical biotechnology and industrial biotechnology and are focusing our research on import substitution and enabling the country to earn valuable foreign exchange through export and have made substantial headway," he said.

"We have also started training manpower. Some of our students have gone abroad for higher studies while others are being trained at the Institute. We have regular intakes for MS and PhD programmes. We have over 20 students for MS/PhD programmes and three students have already earned their doctorate," he concluded. The News

Karachi University Testing Service

2009-07-31T07:59:00.001+06:00

KU to start testing service
Karachi, July 20: The University of Karachi's academic council in a meeting held on Saturday unanimously decided that a fully-fledged testing service would be set up, which would cater for the needs of other educational institutions and would also provide them with assistance.

The decision was taken against the backdrop of an admission test fiasco witnessed last year in the university. The poorly organised exercise caused a lot of problems for applicants – many of whom ended up paying double fees. The university had hired a private organisation to conduct admission tests for the MS/PhD programmes.

According to a KU academic council decision, a committee, headed by Prof (Dr) Aqil Burney, chairman of the computer science department, has been formed to look into the matter and explore possibilities for the new testing service.

The meeting also rejected the cases of two students of the Government College of Home Economics and declared the students ineligible for admission.

The meeting also decided that online degrees would only be accepted in cases where they have been issued by public sector institutions which meet the criteria set by KU.

According to sources, members of the academic council also criticised the former pro-vice chancellor, Prof Dr Ikhlaq Ahmed, who had condoned the two students' cases in his capacity as acting vice-chancellor at a time when the VC was on leave. The cases had been rejected by the vice-chancellor before he left abroad some time ago.

The council members said the pro-vice chancellor, now retired, had no authority to make such a decision on behalf of the statutory body.

It may be mentioned here that the College of Home Economics runs a four-year Bachelor of Studies (BS) programme.

According to the criteria set by the college's board and approved by the academic council of the university, students who have done their Intermediate with home economics subjects are required to have at least 50 per cent marks while students from other educational backgrounds need to have at least 60 per cent marks to get admission to the college.

This year, however, two students, who allegedly did not meet the admission criteria, were given admission to the college.

Their cases were first sent to the vice-chancellor, who rejected them. Later, the dean, faculty of science, was approached, who referred their cases to the affiliation committee.

The committee in its report stated that the criteria was set by the college itself and if any change in the rules was needed, then amendments must be approved through a proper channel and could only be implemented next year.

The academic council, in its unanimous resolution, stated that the two students did not meet the eligibility criteria and, therefore, their admissions stood cancelled. A warning letter would be sent to the principal of the college for violating the rules and regulations, the meeting decided. The minutes of the last meeting of the Board of Faculty of Islamic Learning were also approved after a long debate.

Prof Jalaluddin Noori, who has been suspended for alleged plagiarism, had chaired the last board meeting.

The meeting of the academic council was attended by Vice-Chancellor Prof Pirzada Qasim, chairpersons of the departments and directors of the institutes. Dawn

Fashion & Textile students display exquisite artwork

2009-07-29T21:35:00.000+06:00

Islamabad: Dazzling outfits and house decor accessories presenting a unique amalgamation of traditional craft and trendy cuts attracted a large number of visitors to a fashion and textile exhibition held here on Saturday.

Iqra University's Department of Art & Design conducted a two-day exhibition that displayed modern as well as trendy handmade decorative items in exotic colour combinations along with amazing embellishments, prepared by more than 100 students of Textile and Fashion, individually and in groups.

Mariam Zafar, a student of Textile Designing who had on display her superb screen painting work, said that the exhibition is one of the best opportunities to project the students' artwork.

Mariam said people generally are not aware of the sophistication offered in shape of exquisite hand work in this era of machines but such exhibitions help create awareness among the masses to appreciate hand work.

Mariam Mehdi, a student of the University's Fashion Department, while referring to the trendy dresses put on show, said the students take inspiration from different themes in order to come up with formal, semi formal and cocktail dresses. "Each and every step including pattern making, sewing and illustrations are conducted by the students themselves," she said.

Faculty member of the Fashion and Textile Department Muneeza Ahmed apprised that conducting such exhibitions is a regular feature of their department to appreciate and encourage the students. "Every year, we arrange this exhibition where students in groups or individually work on some exclusive project, which is displayed for sale at the exhibition," she said.

AAUR student Murder case at university cafeteria

2009-07-29T21:33:00.001+06:00

AAUR student 'murdered, not killed by muggers'
Rawalpindi, July 19: The episode of mobile snatching incident in which a student of Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agricultural University, Rawalpindi, was killed on Friday night turned out to be a case of murder, when a number of students revealed that some students gunned the BSc (Honours) student minutes after a scuffle at the university cafeteria.

On Saturday morning, a group of university students, with the impression that Mohammad Shahzad shot dead when he offered resistance to the muggers snatching his mobile phone near Shamsabad Chowk staged a protest demonstration outside the university premises.

Muhammad Javed Iqbal, son of Abdul Hafiz, a resident of Iftikhar Colony, Ward-6, Nankana Road, Shah Kot, Nankana, lodged a complaint with the New Town Police Station saying that his younger brother Muhammad Shahzad was a student of BSc (Honours) at the Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agricultural University. He said that Rana Safdar, son of Rana Amir, a fellow student of Mohammad Shahzad, told him that he had dinner with Shahzad and Usman on Friday night and later Usman took Shahzad out of the cafeteria at about 10 p.m. "I was told that two bike-riding men gunned Shahzad down in the presence of Usman and fled away."

However, City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi Rao Iqbal said, "It is a clear-cut murder case and not a mobile snatching incident that took the life of Mohammad Shahzad." He said that the investigators have collected the evidences and recorded the statements of eyewitnesses, describing it as murder. He said that the police have registered the case against the assailants on the complaint of victim's brother.

The CPO said that Usman and one of the other students were missing and the police were trying to trace them out, adding that Usman was the prime accused who disappeared soon after the occurrence.

Responding to a question, Rao Iqbal said that dozens of former students of Quaid-i-Azam University and Arid Agriculture University, who were rusticated from their institutions for their involvements in illegal activities, gathered in front of the university on Saturday and created law and order situation.

He said that the police resorted to baton-charge and hurled teargas shells to disperse the protesters, but the angry protestors suspended the traffic by burning tyres. The police, later, arrested 20 agitators and booked them under sections 427/186/353/149/148/341 and 337-H2.

Meanwhile, heavy contingents of police have cordoned off the university premises after searching the hostels while different police parties have been sent to hunt down the prime accused, Usman and his friend. The News

AAUR reopens tomorrow
Rawalpindi: Pir Mehr Ali Shah-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) will reopen on Monday after remaining closed following murder of a student in a mobile snatching attempt on Friday, said the university spokesperson. The murder ignited a protest by students, prompting the university administration to cancel examinations. He said the situation had come to normalcy and examinations would be resumed on Monday. He appealed to the students to stay calm. Daily Times

IT labs in 4,286 schools

2009-07-29T21:32:00.001+06:00

Lahore: Additional Chief Secretary Punjab Javed Aslam has said the Information Technology Laboratories in 4286 secondary and higher secondary schools will be set up by November 2009.

He said this while addressing the participants of agreement signing ceremony about provision of IT equipment for these labs. Additional Chief Secretary signed the agreement on behalf of Punjab government while representative of Microsoft, DELL, ACER, HP, Siemens, N-Computing, PTCL and PEL also signed the agreement.

Javed Aslam said that 95% civil work of IT laboratories had been completed while reputed national and international companies had been engaged in project for provision of IT equipment and allied resources. He further said the agreement had been signed with PTCL for installation of internet facilities in these IT labs while TEVTA would provide furniture. Additional Chief Secretary, Javed Aslam further said the Chief Minister Punjab's vision was to bridge the digital divide between private and public sector schools and create awareness in use of latest technology for learning and skill building. He said the training programme for the teachers of IT labs had also been started.

Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary has said all the departments will have to be vigilant for coping with emergency situation in case of terrorism and natural calamity.

He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting regarding defence planning at Civil Secretariat on Saturday. Representatives of federal government and armed forces besides senior officers of Home, Police and other departments also attended the meeting. Briefing was given by Home Department, Rescue-1122, Police, Prosecution Service, Civil Defence, Communication & Works, Transport, Irrigation and other departments. The Chief Secretary said that a practicable plan should be evolved for coping with terrorism and emergent situation in an effective manner which should be implemented in letter and spirit. The News

IJT defies PU adm, sets up stalls again

2009-07-29T21:31:00.000+06:00

Lahore: The Punjab University (PU) chapter Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) once again set up admission stalls at the varsity's New Campus on Saturday.

On Friday, the PU administration had uprooted Jamiat stalls on the ground that no student organization was allowed to set up stalls.

According to a press statement issued by IJT, the student organization set up a number of admission stalls at the Punjab University on Saturday at various places including IBA Lawn, Center for Higher Energy Physics (CHEP) and University Gate No 2, while the main admission stall was set up in front of Faisal Auditorium. A large number of admission seeking students visited these stalls.

Booklets containing information about admission process and last year's merit of all departments were also available at the Jamiat stalls.

PU chapter IJT nazim Qaiser Sharif vowed that Jamiat would continue organizing such positive activities in universities to guide new comers in proper way.

He also demanded PU Vice Chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran take a stern action against the guards and administrative staff involved in Friday's incident wherein Jamiat stalls were removed.

He also demanded the VC make a review committee regarding admission policy of university and abolish entry test.

PU landfill site | IJT defies PU adm

2009-07-29T21:30:00.000+06:00

PU landfill site polluting Mustafa Town
Lahore, July 19: Residents of Mustafa Town, a locality on Wahdat Road, are forced to put up with stinking smell and poisonous gasses emanating from a landfill site used by the Punjab University (New Campus) to dump and burn its garbage.

Mustafa Town is located only 200 meters from the university's private landfill site. The site is maintained unscientifically and it had been polluting ground water and environment for the last two years.

Mustafa Town residents said pollution caused by burning garbage had ruined their lives, claiming PU staffers dumped at least three trolleys of garbage at this landfill site everyday.

Residents of the colony said smoke engulfed the entire locality when PU staffers burnt garbage and residents had no option but to breathe poisonous gasses emanating from the burning garbage. People were contracting diseases from these poisonous gasses, they remarked.

"My family now only dreams of breathing fresh air," said Muhammad Amir, a resident of Mustafa Town. "You can not imagine the stench of garbage that invades our nostrils if wind blows from the direction of the landfill site towards Mustafa Town," he said. He said several children in the society had developed asthma from breathing poisonous smoke.

Omar, another resident, said his entire family was suffering from breathing problems. He said his house was closest in the society to the landfill site. He said he had desperately tried to sell his home but no one was willing to buy it due to its proximity to the site.

Mushtaq, another resident of Mustafa Town, said the landfill site polluted ground water of the area during rains. He said despite requests, PU authorities had not stopped disposing of garbage near the colony.

He said the landfill site was threatening to 'bury' the colony under garbage. He warned of protests if PU authorities kept up this practice.

Residents said that they were running pillar to post but neither the government nor the PU was ready to give them relief. "We filed applications with the Punjab governor, the Punjab chief minister's Complaint Cell, the Punjab Environment Department, the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) and the vice-chancellor of the Punjab University. Regrettably, we got a very cold response," Omar said. He said residents had decided to approach human rights organisations and the Supreme Court of Pakistan to get relief.

Naseemur Rehman, a senior officer of the Punjab Environment Department, said that private housing colonies and other organisations were allowed to build landfill sites but only in accordance with specifications and design issued by the Pakistan Environment Protection Department. He said if the Punjab University was operating a landfill site then it should match the department's specifications and design otherwise action will be taken against the varsity. He said the department had not received any formal complaint from residents. He said the department will investigate the issue and will take action to solve problems faced by residents of Mustafa Town.

When contacted, the Punjab University registrar said the issue was not in his notice. He said he will take action if any complainant from the society approached him.

Internship programme 2009

2009-07-29T21:29:00.000+06:00

Lahore: A four-month internship programme 2009 for final year DVM students was inaugurated at the University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences (UVAS) by Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz on Saturday. A five-day orientation workshop was also organised in this connection which concluded on Saturday. Speaking at the concluding session, the VC lauded the efforts made by the Faculty of Veterinary Science in arranging the internship placement for 109 students in the public and private sectors.

Posting of junior teacher raises eyebrows

2009-07-29T21:28:00.000+06:00

Lahore: The recent posting of a BPS-17 lecturer against a BPS-18 administrative post with additional charge of BS-19 post by the Punjab Higher Education Department has raised many eyebrows with some stakeholders accusing high-ups of favouring the incumbent because of his political connections.

The lecturer, Muhammad Afzal, is among those over 90 ad hoc lecturers who were reinstated in March this year on orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Reportedly, the Punjab government had sacked the lecturers who had been serving for almost 14 years from service in 2001 instead of regularizing them.

It is learnt that during this period Muhammad Afzal started taking part in local politics, developed relations with senior leaders of the PML-N and also won elections at Union Council level in Dera Ghazi Khan.

According to sources in the department, as per rules the post of DO Colleges was to be filled from among the teaching cadre, however, the candidate should have been an assistant professor of BS-18. They said similarly the recently created post of Director Colleges at divisional level was meant for associate professor of BPS-19.

They said at present not a single DO Colleges except of DG Khan was of BPS-17 while adding similarly all posts of Director Colleges had been filled except of DG Khan Division.

They even claimed the Establishment Wing of the department was intentionally not filling the post of Director Colleges of DG Khan so that the lecturer kept enjoying 'authority'.

The sources said the department had to face political pressure each time appointment was to be made on administrative posts as such postings were always considered lucrative as they offered various facilities such as official vehicle etc.

When contacted, Muhammad Afzal said his posting had nothing to do with politics adding his posting was ordered by the department secretary. To a question, he said he was verbally asked to look after the charge of Director Colleges.

Additional Secretary (Establishment) of the Punjab Higher Education Department Humayun Maqbool Bhatti claimed that the department had to face problems in posting officials against administrative posts in unattractive areas.

"We have to post even BPS-17 lecturers as principals in unattractive areas", he further claimed.

To a question whether any of the DO (Colleges) from any district of the province was of BPS-17, Bhatti said" "I cannot recall right now". He, however, maintained that the said DO had not been asked to look after the office of Director Colleges.

He said a summary was moved to the chief minister regarding appointment of Director Colleges at DG Khan Division however it was sent back with observations. He expressed hope that a regular incumbent would soon be posted at DG Khan.

Punjab Professors & Lecturers Association (PPLA) President Nazim Hasnain said the posting was certainly disappointing as merit was not observed. He said if the CM claimed supremacy of merit in the province than it should be same for all.

NLA Machine translation (MT) Urdu software

2009-07-29T21:20:00.000+06:00

NLA launches Urdu software to break language barriers
Islamabad, July 19: English is no more a barrier in learning computer and internet technology as National Language Authority (NLA) on Saturday released and Urdu software carrying computing and processing systems, developed by its Centre of Excellence for Urdu Informatics.

Machine translation (MT) software is a big step and now Urdu Data House is ready to replace other National languages on cyber space, NLA Chairman Iftikhar Arif announced in a ceremony.

"Microsoft applications like Windows, Office are now converted into Urdu operating systems. One font and one keyboard for Urdu and other Pakistani languages is also released by NLA," Arif said.

Arif said in a rapidly growing integrated technology, it was inevitable to make Urdu language parallel to developed contemporary languages in usage of computer, internet and informatics. "Unveiling Urdu software is a step forward in development of Urdu language," he said.

He said under this project, Nastaleeq font was developed to support Urdu and all Pakistani languages. "As the font is Unicode, hence all kinds of data processing and computing become possible," he said.

He said with the use of such fonts, Urdu became a language of internet. "Basic letters, dots and diacritics are also separated, on basis of Ghost Character Theory, now registered with ISO and Unicode, whereas, it is not a feature of Inpage Urdu," he said.

He said MT software had been developed to perform automatic translation from English to Urdu. "To develop a software for a general language translation is near impossible. Initially, the scope of this MT software is translate official discourse including budget and finance matters," Arif said.

He said Urdu Database would make language resources available at one click and its application with testing data was ready to be used for data processing with an aim to develop a comprehensive language reference bank not only for scholars, researchers, teachers but also for students and general public.

"This is a post-dictionary work, where one is not forced to share a prior knowledge of work or phrase as a prerequisite of searching its meaning and usage," he said.

Arif said Urdu Style Guide let researchers, authors and publishers to style articles, books and other materials automatically as per international and customised standards. "Applying style manually not only takes extra time but also extra care. With the use of Urdu Style Guide, raw data is formatted just by one click. The first part of this product is a Bibliographer that is being released for writers," he said.

Dr Attash Durrani, Centre of Excellence for Urdu Informatics project director, said, "Survival of the fittest is the rule applied on languages as well in a global village. Only those languages will survive that are available on computer and internet." Daily Times

Moot on Islamic microfinance on July 21

2009-07-29T19:29:00.000+06:00

Islamabad: A two-day International Conference on the 'Emerging Concept of Islamic Microfinance,' organised by Helping Hand for Relief & Development and Riphah Centre of Islamic Business of Riphah International University, will start on Tuesday (July 21), at the Best Western Hotel, says a press release.

It is aimed at exploring emerging concepts for poverty alleviation and economic empowerment in developing countries through Islamic microfinance.

Distinguished scholars and field experts from Pakistan and abroad, including USA, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have consented to participate.

Federal Minister for Privatisation Naveed Qamar is expected to be the chief guest at the event.

Renowned scholars and economists such as Dr. Zahid H. Bukhari, currently working as director, American Muslim Studies Programme at Georgetown University, Washington (USA); Dr. Muhammad Yusop Damit, rector, Islam Sultan Sharif Ali University (Brunei Dar-us-Salam), Sarker Muhammad. Ramzan Ali, secretary, Islamic Aid Bangladesh and Durmus Aydin, Vice President IHH (Turkey) will present their papers on various aspects of Islamic microfinance at the conference.

The participants will deliberate upon related subjects with the objective of consolidating the thematic and operational issues associated with the emerging Islamic Micro Financial Instruments and institutions. The News

PU Law College lecturer escapes from court

2009-07-29T19:28:00.000+06:00

Lahore: Punjab University (PU) Law College lecturer Khujista Rehan on Friday managed to escape from the court of an additional district and sessions judge who cancelled her interim bail in a case registered against her with New Muslim Town police. According to details, Rehan — also the PU girls hostel number 9 superintendent, had gotten a three-day interim bail until Friday. She appeared before the court for confirmation of her bail but the court instead ordered her arrest. However, she managed to flee from the court premises. On July 10, an FIR was registered against Rehan on the complaint of hostel employees for allegedly torturing hostel number 9 warden Dr Farah. Rehan was accused of thrashing Farah and hitting her with a paperweight. According to the FIR, she also issued life threats to the warden and disappeared after the incident. Daily Times

Dr. Farah named for best U-teacher award

2009-07-29T19:26:00.000+06:00

Lahore: Dr. Farah Malik of Psychology Department Government College University Lahore has been declared to receive the Award for the Best University Teacher of year 2008 by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). She will be honoured by Assistant Director (Academics) HEC Asfand Yar Khan and will be presented a certificate and cash prize of Rs. 100,000/- on the occasion. The Vice Chancellor GCU Lahore Prof. Dr. Khalid Aftab has commended Dr. Farah Malik for attaining the award and has hoped that she would continue enhancing her academic and research activities in the realm of Psychology in future as well. F.P report

Transition of '.pk' domain | Islamic microfinance

2009-07-29T19:25:00.000+06:00

Transition of '.pk' domain completed
Islamabad, July 18: The transition of county code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) of Pakistan '.pk'has been successfully completed marking it as the most significant and noteworthy landmark in the internet history of the county.

A press release issued on Friday revealed that in this regard, Chairman PTA, Dr Mohammed Yaseen, visited
Lahore office of PKNIC. PKNIC was the present ccTLD operator for '.pk' domain. The purpose of his visit was to appraise the newly upgraded '.pk' infrastructure, data centre and customer services department in Pakistan.

During the visit Chairman PTA noted that the root server mirroring for '.pk' domain in Pakistan was fully operational. PKNIC had successfully implemented the root server mirroring for '.pk' and tested it with all global root servers from a.root-servers.net to m.root-servers.net.

The new authoritative mirror M-2.PKNIC.NET.pk (203.128.7.123) would enable local resolution of '.pk' websites. PKNIC representatives briefed the Chairman regarding mirroring techniques and provided some testing on new Domain Name Service (DNS) resolution mechanism of .pk ccTLD. Formal inauguration of new PKNIC office should be organized in August.

It may be mentioned that Chairman PTA had a long association with '.pk' transition project and had been working vigorously for the successful transition of '.pk' domain to Pakistan. There had been numerous attempts since a decade to bring .pk operations to Pakistan; however during his efforts for '.pk'transition, Chairman PTA strongly perused and coordinated the whole process resulting in execution of '.pk'local mirroring.

Speaking on the occasion Chairman PTA said that '.pk'domain was a national asset for the country and improvement in its services would boost the local content development; subsequently encouraging enterprises to host their web content under '.pk'and ensuring smooth operations of an important internet resource. A dedicated team at ICT Directorate, PTA under the supervision of Chairman had been working on this significant project for the improvement of local internet industry.

Chairman PTA appreciated the efforts of PKNIC management especially of Ashar Nisar and Imran Anwar for this important accomplishment. He also praised the efforts of PTA ICT Directorate towards the project and commended their role during the transition project. PKNIC management highly valued the necessary endorsement of Chairman PTA in this regard. Daily Times

Private schools pay less then Rs 6,000 minimum wage

2009-07-29T19:24:00.000+06:00

Private schools not paying minimum wage to faculty
Lahore, July 18: Although the government has fixed minimum wage of labour at Rs 6,000, teachers in many private schools have not benefited from this decision.

There are many private schools in Lahore which disregard the government-implemented minimum wage and exploit their teachers. The number of private schools registered with the Education Department is
5,500 in the Lahore district according to available data. According to sources in the Education Department, there are many schools in the city -including those with a large number of enrolled students- that pay their teachers only Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 and complain of few resources and many expenses.

There are also a large number of schools which have charged their students full fees during the summer vacation and have either not paid their teachers or paid them less than their fixed salaries.

Afia Ihsan, a teacher at a private school, said most of the students at this school submitted their fees before the summer vacation. However, the school management paid only half the salaries to the teachers. She said there were many graduate teachers who were paid less than Rs 6,000 in private schools

Shabana Nadeem, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) teacher with years of teaching experience, said her salary was less than Rs 6,000. She said teachers' salaries increased with the passage of time in the government sector, but there was no such mechanism in the private sector. Nadeem said the government should bring private schools under its control and ensure that the minimum wage policy is implemented in private schools.

Inaccurate figures: Lahore Executive District Officer (Education) (EDO) Muhammad Arshad said many private schools in the city defied the minimum wage policy. He said such schools presented inaccurate figures of their teachers' salaries before being registered, and later did not correct these. Arshad said action could be taken against such schools.

All Pakistan Private School Management Association (APPSMA) Chairman Adeeb Jawadani said many schools in the city did not comply with the minimum wage policy. He said inspection teams which visited schools before registration should only register them based on merit and schools comprising two or three rooms should not be registered. "Government schools do not cater to the education requirements of all the children, so private schools are necessary. However, the school inspectors should not take bribes and should register schools only on merit," Jawadani said.

PU BA/BSc four-year programmes admission schedule

2009-07-29T19:23:00.000+06:00

Punjab University admission schedule
Lahore, July 18: The Punjab University has announced admission schedule of BA/BSc four-year programmes according to which entry tests will be compulsory for admission to only three departments.

According to a press statement on Friday, the three departments included Micro Biology and Molecular Biology,
Information Technology (Software Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology) and Clinical Psychology. The entry test would be organised by the Punjab University.

The last of date of submission of entry test forms is July 31.

The departments where entry test is not compulsory are: Space Science, Mathematics, Geography, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Geology, High Energy Physics, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Botany, Mycology and Plant Pathology, Zoology, Psychology and Applied Psychology, Business and Information Technology, Business Administration, Administrative Sciences, Sheikh Zayed Islamic Centre, Hailey College of Commerce, Banking and Finance, Social and Cultural Studies (Sociology), Communication Studies, Philosophy, Physics, Statistical and Actuarial Sciences and Law. The News

ACCA Pakistan organises career counselling training

2009-07-23T08:30:00.001+06:00

ACCA Pakistan recently organised a career counseling and training session for school heads, counselors and faculty which was attended by many well reputed schools and colleges in Karachi.The participating schools included Mama Parsi School, Army Public School, Cordoba School, Foundation Public School, Falcon House Grammar School, Shah Willayat School, Fahim’s School System, Fatimiyah Boys School and Fatimiyah Girls School.This counseling training was arranged as an initiative under the ACCA’s knowledge sharing agenda and aimed to encourage education institutes to build appropriate student counselling expertise for imparting effective guidance to students regarding their career decisions. The key note speaker at the training was Ms Rasheeda Valika, Student Counsellor at Szabist University. Ms Valika highlighted the key role of faculty in personal and professional development of students and emphasised on the importance of career counselling at appropriate stages of student-life. Speaking about the challenges faced by students today, Ms Valika said that there is an urgent need of partnership between academic sector and job market to ensure human talent is channelled in the productive fields.Later, Mr Hassan, Executive Director Auspak International talked the opportunities in the fields of accountancy and finance and highlighted the dynamic role of professional accountants in today’s economic situation. The event was appreciated by the educationist-community who strongly felt that such trainings were significant for their skills development.

Pakistani ACCA Student Wins Global Award

2009-07-23T08:26:00.000+06:00

Muhammad Azhar Azim, a student of ACCA from Lahore, Pakistan, is one of the three successful students who have received the ACCA's Sir David Tweedie Award for 2008. In the prize ceremony held in London - UK this week, Sir David Tweedie in presence of Brendan Murtagh, President ACCA and other dignitaries presented the award to Azhar Azeem and the other two winners, each from Tanzania and the UK. This award is presented to students who score highest mark globally in Paper P2 (Corporate Reporting) of ACCA Qualification. Mr Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan, lauded the achievement of Azhar Azeem as "a reason of pride and inspiration for ACCA Pakistan, and a proof of the commitment and hard work of Azhar Azeem supported by his family and teachers".
Courtesy of ACCA Pakistan

ACCA Pakistan organises career counselling training

2009-07-23T08:22:00.001+06:00

ACCA Pakistan recently organised a career counseling and training session for school heads, counselors and faculty which was attended by many well reputed schools and colleges in Karachi.The participating schools included MamaParsi School, Army Public School, Cordoba School, Foundation Public School, Falcon House Grammar School, Shah Willayat School, Fahim’s School System, Fatimiyah Boys School and Fatimiyah Girls School.This counseling training was arranged as an initiative under the ACCA’s knowledge sharing agenda and aimed to encourage education institutes to build appropriate student counselling expertise for imparting effective guidance to students regarding their career decisions. The key note speaker at the training was Ms Rasheeda Valika, Student Counsellor at Szabist University. Ms Valika highlighted the key role of faculty in personal and professional development of students and emphasised on the importance of career counselling at appropriate stages of student-life. Speaking about the challenges faced by students today, Ms Valika said that there is an urgent need of partnership between academic sector and job market to ensure human talent is channelled in the productive fields.Later, Mr Hassan, Executive Director Auspak International talked the opportunities in the fields of accountancy and finance and highlighted the dynamic role of professional accountants in today’s economic situation. The event was appreciated by the educationist-community who strongly felt that such trainings were significant for their skills development.
Courtesy of ACCA Pakistan

President, PM decide in principle to expand and reshuffle federal cabinet

2009-07-22T07:14:00.001+06:00

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani have decided "in principle" to expand and reshuffle the Federal Cabinet.

Reliable sources told thatduring the meeting President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani have agreed to change portfolios of Interior Minister, Petroleum Minister, Health Minister, Investment Minister, Health Minister and Kashmir Affairs.

It is reported that PPP Senior leader, Mian Raza Rabbani is likely to take charge, as Interior Minister while Naveed Qamar will be appointed as Petroleum Minister after replacing Dr. Asim Hussain.

While current Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Health Minister, Ejaz Jakhrani will be assigned new portfolios.

Sources further added that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani while appreciating the performance of Senator Waqar, Investment Minister and Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme has decided to assign them important portfolios.

Sources added that Prime Minister while expressing his dissatisfaction with the performance of interior ministry has expressed his grave concern on the increasing incidents of terrorists and law and order situation in the country.

It is said that Prime Minister is committed to induct qualified and experience person in his cabinet so that they can effective defend the good polices of government in the parliament.
When contacted with officials in the Prime Minister House, none of the officials confirmed the timeframe for the reshuffle and expansion in Federal Cabinet; however, it is expected in a week.

Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari to be introduced in Politics

2009-07-22T07:10:00.001+06:00

President (Co-Chairman PPP) Asif Ali Zardari has decided to introduce Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari into Politics at strong recommendation of PPPP members.

Sources from PPPP disclosed here Monday that the decision has been aimed to present Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari as
second fiddle of (L) Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and to compete with Fatima Bhutto in National Political platform.

Sources further informed that during the meeting President Asif Ali Zardari also pointed out to the participants that Bakhtawar Bhutto was also taking keen interest in the politics, on which the participants of the meeting backed the President’s idea.

117 names placed on ECL

2009-07-22T07:09:00.000+06:00

Under the charges of corruption and illegal use of authorities 117 personalities including government employees have been banned to travel abroad.

According to details 117 personsname have been included in exist control list including in which more than 25 belong to frontier, according to The National Accountability Bureau report.

According to the report no major case has been pointed and none of former politician or army officer targeted the maximum corruption showed in the report is up to 100 million.

According to report 117 names have been added to ECL in which no political leader or armed forces officer has been included.

Government issued 119 arrest warrants in which 64 belong to Punjab, 10 from Sindh, 10 from NWFP, 3 from Balochistan and 31 belong to Rawalpindi. Almost 65 people have been arrested so far.

Total 168 references have been forward to accountability court and NAB has recovered 48.374 million rupees from 3 cases.

11 employees of educational department arrested

2009-07-22T07:06:00.001+06:00

Security forces have taken into custody11 employees of education department for their alleged support for Taliban.

According to education department official sources security force arrested 11 employees of education department on Saturday, in order to interrogate them for their alleged collaboration with the Taliban.

Sources underlined that these people had been arrested because they had close ties with Taliban and often interchanged secret information, which created problems for security forces operations.

While education department and provincial government has showed their unawareness of the matter.

Islamabad: Students get tips for seeking job

2009-07-22T07:01:00.001+06:00

Experts at a seminar urged the students to never give up and remain consistent while seeking a job until success.

The seminar, which was attended by a large number of female job seekers, was held at the sideline of second day of the Job Fair 2009 here on Wednesday.

They said that the average ratiofor getting a call from an organisation you applied for a job was 10:1, which means that a candidate has to apply in dozens of organisations to get a required job.

The speakers on the occasion described various job-seeking tips to the students and said that each and every aspect starting from the application till the interview must be handled skilfully.

They said that one of the frustrating part of the job search was locating job openings.

“Everyone should have yellow pages which provide detailed information regarding the number and addresses of the offices in the city,” said Faculty of Management Sciences Assistant Professor Shoaib Bin Naeem.

Naeem also suggested that some leading newspapers including ‘The News’ and ‘Jang’ could be lot more helpful in finding job openings. “A person seeking job must have these newspapers on Sunday in order to get the useful information regarding various vacancies,” he said.

He also pointed out the common mistake made by the applicants when they make similar job letter for every vacancy. “The job in which one is interested must be specified in the subject,” Naeem said.

He further advised that a considerable information regarding company must be included in the application as it shows the interest of the applicant in the respective organisation.

“The HR should have an impression as if you are really interested to work in that particular organisation,” he said.

Shifa International HR Manager Ehsan-ul-Haq urged students to be prepared about the various questions that they were expecting during the interview. “One should not mention ones weaknesses in a straightforward manner rather present ones weaknesses as strength,” he said.

Saadia Malik, a manager HR, stressed for the grooming of the applicants as far as their personal appearance was concerned. “The HR manager selects or rejects an applicant in the first 10 seconds on the basis of his personal appearance and manners,” she said.

She suggested various tips regarding the dressing, accessories and makeup of the applicant when called for interview. “One should wear a sober dress with light make up and jewellery,” she said.

Addressing on the occasion Numeratics Managing Director Owaise Anjum said that there were few technicalities involved in filling the job application, which include the proper full name, all dates of employments, all experiences and proper reference. “If there is a blank for salary desired, try to give a salary range or state ‘open’ or ‘negotiable’,” he said.

While describing the various don’t he said that never misspell words, do not omit signature, do not ever be negative and do not make your application a challenge to read.

He said that there are some common questions, which are usually asked by the interviews so a candidate must be prepared to answer them. He said that the most asked questions include the question regarding your strength and weaknesses, your personality, goals and requirements.

Courtesy: The News

Karachi HSC Home Economics results 2009

2009-07-18T09:40:00.001+06:00

Over 60pc Home Economics students clear HSC exams
Karachi, July 17: None of the candidates, including
the position holder students, got Grade A-1 in the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) Part-II (Class XII) Home Economics group annual examinations-2009, the results, announced by the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) on Thursday, show the overall pass percentage is 60.87 per cent.

Of the total 432 candidates who appeared in the exams, 263 were declared passed in different grades. Some 19 students (4.40 per cent) got Grade A, 67 students (15.51 per cent) got Grade B, 106 students (24.54 per cent) got Grade C, 67 students (15.51per cent) got Grade D and, four students (0.93 per cent) got Grade E in the exams.

The Raa'na Liaquat Ali Khan College of Home Economics, being the only college of home economics in the city, bagged all the top three positions in the exams.

Ms Khadija, daughter of Feroz Faizullah (roll no.202152), clinched the first position in the exams by obtaining 942 marks (78.50 per cent) out of the total 1,200 marks.

Ms Maahin Sabir Ali, daughter of Sabir Ali Rehman (roll no.202167), bagged the second position by securing 936 marks (78 per cent) in the exams.

The third position went to Ms A group photo of position holders. Saba Iqbal Advani, daughter of Mohammad Iqbal Advani (roll no.202339). She secured 911 marks (75.92 per cent) in the exams.

Meanwhile, BIEK chairman Prof Anwar Ahmed Zai announced on Thursday that examination results, including those of Intermediate Part-II (Science) Pre-engineering and Pre-medical groups exams-2009, would be announced by mid-August so that candidates seeking admissions to professional medical and engineering colleges could get admissions in time.

Speaking at a ceremony held in honour of the position holder students on the premises of BIEK, the chairman also announced that the new pattern of examinations introduced this year in Class XI exams would be applied next year also to Class XII exams.

Under the new pattern of exams, theory papers would carry 20 per cent objective-type questions, 50 per cent short-answer questions and 30 per cent descriptive-answer questions, he said.

He said that practical exams would be of 15 marks instead of 25 marks while the theory papers, involving practical, would be of 85 marks as against the previous 75 marks. Dawn

BISE Peshawar Intermediate result

2009-07-18T09:37:00.002+06:00

BISE Peshawar Intermediate result on 22
Peshawar, July 17: The result of the intermediate

annual examination held on April 28, 2009 under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar, will be announced on July 22 at 7.00 p.m.

The announcement in this connection was made by Controller of Examination BISE Peshawar Professor Nasir Ali here on Thursday.

According to him, the copies of the gazette book can be collected from BISE office or camp officer while paying Rs. 1200/-.

The private candidates should obtain their DMCs from the following camp offices. Government Centennial Model School No.2 Peshawar City, Government Higher Secondary School No.2 Peshawar Cantt, Government Higher Secondary School No.1 Charsadda, Government Higher Secondary School Shabqadar Fort, Government Centennial Model School Chitral. App

Exam fee for Punjab govt schools abolished

2009-07-18T09:36:00.001+06:00

Inter & secondary government schools for regular students
Lahore, July 17: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has
finally ordered abolition of registration and examination fees being charged by all the eight boards of intermediate and secondary education from regular students of only government schools in the province.

At a follow-up meeting on Thursday, regarding implementation of decisions taken in the previous meetings, Mr Sharif asked his secretary to immediately approve the summary forwarded by the higher education department.

Acting higher education secretary Ahad Khan Cheema said the department would notify the fee abolition as soon as it would receive the approved summary.

As the chief minister had announced stern action against the colleges showing zero per cent results in the Punjab University BA, BSc examinations on Wednesday, the higher education department has decided to issue show-cause notices to principals of all such colleges.

Mr Cheema said the department would also determine a benchmark for colleges' pass percentage and issue show-cause notices to those principals of the institutions as well that had shown less than the target pass percentage.

At the meeting, the chief minister said it was shocking to know that some colleges in BA/BSc exams had shown zero per cent results. He also called for a separate briefing on the pathetic performance of these institutions.

The CM also asked the higher education department and boards' officials to keep a vigilant eye on activities of 'booti' mafia.

"In case of any irregularity in the affairs of boards, not only chairman, secretary and controller of examinations concerned will be removed from their posts, the higher education secretary will also be held accountable for the lapse."

Pakistan madrassa reforms | Talimi Basta NGO

2009-07-18T09:35:00.000+06:00

Pakistan madrassa reforms in tatters
Islamabad, July 17: The government has
virtually shelved a US-aided, multi-million dollar plan to reform madrassas considered nurseries of terrorism, as it has failed to garner the support of clerics.

The government initiated the project in 2002 in a bid to introduce a more secular curriculum in madrassas.

The project sought to introduce computer skills, science, social studies and English into the overwhelmingly religious curriculum at thousands of madrassas across the country.

Utility: "We had a huge budget of Rs 5,759 million ($71 million) to provide madrassa students with formal education but we could not utilise it," Education Ministry spokesman Atiqur Rehman said.

"The Interior Ministry held talks with various madrassas... but many of them refused to accept the government's intervention," said Mufti Gulzar Ahmed Naeemi, a senior official of the mainstream Sunni clerics alliance, Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunnat.

As a result, the government has failed to meet the target of reforming around 8,000 religious schools within five years.

"We reached 507 madrassas only, spending Rs 333 million and the rest of the [money] – Rs 5,426 million has lapsed," Rehman said.

According to government records, there are at least 15,148 madrassas in Pakistan with more than two million students – around five percent of the 34 million children in formal education.

But officials suspect many more remain unregistered, becoming the only source of education for thousands of impoverished children across the country.

A majority of the madrassas get the required funds from local businessmen and traders, along with religious foundations, charities and Pakistanis living abroad.

The Education Ministry says it introduced the "latest computer technology" to 30 madrassas and paid the salaries of 950 teachers on a three-year scheme.

Expiry: "We will pay these teachers until June 30 in 2010 and then this project will be closed because no more madrassas are being included in the reform project," the ministry spokesman said.

Teachers who participated in the scheme are desperately worried about the future of their pupils if their new lessons are scrapped.

"This programme must be continued. The madrassa students are getting real benefits out of it and are entering the field of formal education and computer technology," one of the teachers said. "I'm paid 3,000 rupees by the government for this job. My contract ends on June 30 in 2010 but I plan to continue this duty. This is really national service," he said.

In Rawalpindi, Syed Haseenuddin Shah recalled one of his students who switched from religious studies to computer science and ended up with a degree.

"There are so many students following him who regularly attend computer classes in the madrassa," Shah said.

Some analysts believe the government's military onslaught against the Taliban could improve prospects for reviving plans to reshape the role of madrassas.

"Any effort by the government at this point will show they are determined to curb terrorism by all ways and means," defence analyst Talat Masood said, calling on Islamabad to re-launch the programme and provide free education. afp

UAF exam dept throws caution to the wind

2009-07-18T09:33:00.002+06:00

Faisalabad: The University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF)
controller of examination office has adopted a novel way of dispatching question papers to examination centres in remote areas by handing over the papers to the superintendents instead of putting them in bank lockers.

The issue surfaced when the Chief Minister's Inspection Team, led by Salahuddin Niazi, had visited the university on Monday last to probe the out-of-course question papers' controversy.

Scores of B.Com students of private colleges affiliated with the university raised the issue when they found their question paper of "Business Stat and Math" out of course. The students tore the answer-sheets and the question papers and protested against the university administration.

The students alleged that the examiner had set out-of-course question papers of "Business Stat and Math" and "Business Taxation" held on Saturday and Monday.

The inspection team held talks with UAF Vice-Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad, asking him about the issue and frustration of nearly 160 students. Sources said that the team members had asked Controller of Examination Dr Tanvir Malik how they ensured security of question papers. They quoted the official as saying that the university had been following a tradition of handing over the question papers to the superintendents prior to the examination. He said the university did not put the papers in any public bank.

The controller had no answer, they said, when a member of the team questioned why National Bank of Pakistan lockers were not being used to keep question papers. Asked how the university would handle the situation if any question paper was snatched or any corrupt official sold papers, the sources quoted the controller as saying that "no such incident has taken place in the past".

The team also learnt that no special training was being imparted to the invigilators being deputed by the university and most of them had been conducting examinations depending upon the experience of their seniors. A few of the invigilators also performed their duties at the Laboratory High School centres without proper training.

Sources said the inquiry committee also held the university administration responsible for not making arrangements for proper security, a lack of imposition of section 144 and failure of the examiner to stop chaos erupted at the examination hall set up at the Laboratory High School. The team also blamed the students for disrupting the papers.

They said the VC had given 10 days to a three-member committee he constituted to submit a report, but withdrew his order soon afterwards. The CM's inspection team directed the VC to wind up the issue within 24 hours in view of the nature of the case. The administration closed the chapter by informing the students that the papers in question had been cancelled.

Sources said the committee also quizzed the security head who admitted having failed to control the mob (students) despite best efforts.

The spokesman for the university said the administration had taken all measures suggested by the inspection team and now the students were taking their examination peacefully. He said section 144 had been imposed by the district administration and the university also had improved security even inside the examination hall.

KU LLM exams from 25th

2009-07-18T09:33:00.001+06:00

Karachi: Universityof Karachi (KU) has
notified to all the students of Law colleges that the annual examination -2009 of LLM (Final & Previous) will commence from July 25. The candidates can collect their Admit Cards and Examination Programme from their respective colleges.

Farah Dogar case: FBISE employees to face the music

2009-07-18T09:31:00.000+06:00

Islamabad: In another move that might
lead to friction if not confrontation between the parliament and the judiciary, a parliamentary committee has decided to punish some government officials for a wrong that a high court had already absolved them of.

Despite Islamabad High Court's ruling in favour of Farah Hamid Dogar, daughter of former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, justifying jacking up of her marks by the federal board, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education has decided to punish board employees who were involved in the controversial action.

An unprecedented increase of 20 marks in intermediate examination of Ms Dogar during rechecking of her answer books had made headlines early this year. The issue remained under limelight until Islamabad High Court decided in favour of Ms Dogar.

In its order, the court also directed board officials to change its rules to provide a procedure for re-evaluation of the answer books.

However, seemingly asserting its supremacy over the high court, the NA standing committee on education headed by PML (N) Ch Abid Sher Ali kept on probing the issue and directed education ministry to investigate whether rules were followed in re-awarding of marks to Ms Dogar.

Federal Secretary of education on Thursday informed the standing committee that former chairman of the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education was responsible of ordering re-assessment of Ms Dogar's answer sheets that was not allowed under board rules.

On receiving the report, the committee has constituted a five member sub-committee headed by MNA Rana Afzaal Hussain to further probe into inquiry report of the education ministry and recommend punishments for board officials including its ex-chairman. Ch Abid Sher Ali chaired the meeting.

Mr Sher Ali defied the court ruling, saying, "the committee has never accepted court decision which was made with mala-fide intent, and would go ahead with its constitutional role and ensure the culprits are punished."

When asked once the issue had been settled in the court of law, how could NA committee recommend punishments for board employees, he contended that the committee had the right to do so.

"The decision by the Islamabad High Court was made under the influence of the then Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar, a PCO judge, hence, it does not carry any validity with me," Mr Abid Sher Ali responded a query.

What to talk about relaxing reassessment of answer sheets rules, education ministry in its report has recommended making them more strict, Chairman NA committee said in response to another question. Dawn

Talimi Basta to promote street kids schooling

2009-07-18T09:30:00.000+06:00

Karachi: Non-governmental organization Teachers' Resource Center's "Talimi Basta" prepared in consultation with psychologists
has been proving very helpful in promoting education, particularly amongst little students of street schools and street children.

During a survey on Thursday it was learnt that although several street schools are functioning in backward areas of the city, particularly in the limits of Layari, Malir, Keamari and Baldia Towns, but no remarkable development could be achieved so far to get all children of very poor parents enrolled at them.

The TRC views that old conventional teaching system could not bear fruits and as a result a large number of children do not take interest in getting admission to next classes after passing primary class while a number of them used to leave school at the time when they are students of one or two class.

To create interest and zeal amongst children aged three to six year for getting education and attending their classes regularly, the NGO, in consultation with psychologists and under latest research, has formulated a school bag named as 'Talimi Basta'- the educational kit.

The Talimi Basta contains educational training materials-20 number cards, 15 cello fan cards, 146 cut pieces of pictures, 146 color cards, 12 story books in Urdu, 11 story books in English, 35 ABC cards, 26 Alphabets cards, 10 digits cards, five picture puzzles, 10 cards of Urdu words, 10 cards of English words, 150 pearls, 75 buttons, one magnifying glass, one magnet and 76 cards showing pictures of different species of animals and plants, vegetables, fruits, vehicles and domestic articles. TCR has to bear Rs3750 to prepare a Talimi Basta.

Advisor to Sindh Chief Minister Ms. Sharmila Faruqui who along with experts of TCR visited a street school located in Baghdadi, Lyari Town yesterday and distributed Talimi Basta among 30 children aged three to six year, told PPI on Thursday that Talimi Basta prepared under latest child psychology research has been proving fruitful as the learning skills improved in children who were given Talimi Basta at different schools so far.

She further said that to expand the range of the project to more street schools and government and private schools, philanthropists and other NGOs would have to contribute to it as only one NGO could not distribute this costly kit among all students at street schools of the city.

She recalled that she had given Talimi Busta to students at schools in Karachi Jail and Edhi Center. She was of the view that no education could be promoted until you create a zeal amongst little children aged three to seven year for learning education, which is impossible without adopting latest education learning system like that of European countries.

She noted that knowledge of language, mathematics and science is base of a better education and Talimi Basta carters needs of little children in this connection. The Nation

Punjab University PhD theses

2009-07-18T09:28:00.000+06:00

Lahore: A meeting of Punjab University
Advance Studies and Research Board (AS&RB) on Thursday approved 10 PhD synopses, eight reports on PhD theses and three panels of examiners for PhD theses review. A press said the meeting chaired by Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran solved the cases of PhD scholars sent for review to the board by PU departments, institutes, colleges and schools. Extension was given to 37 cases while four miscellaneous cases were also discussed.