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Sindh Text Book Board printing | NUCES design crane for docks
Sindh Text Book Board: Replacement of chairman likely to further slow printing process
Karachi, April 21, 2008: The Sindh Text Book Board
(STBB), which has already severely delayed the printing of the 30 million books
for students from classes one to ten in Sindh, is not likely to meet even the
delayed deadline of July with a change at the top post.
The current
chairman, Shamsuddin Solangi, was appointed by former Sindh chief minister Dr
Arbab Ghulam Rahim and comes to the end of his contract on April 28. The Sindh
education department has appointed Asghar Ali Bhutto, a professor of Physics at
the Government Degree College, Larkana, in his place.
The textbooks
should be available by January or February each year, but this did not happen
this year. While the STBB purchased paper worth Rs 300 million, they failed to
award the printing contract to suitable bidders because of an internal conflict
between the Sindh education minister and the STBB chairman.
In a meeting
of all provincial education ministers on February 4 to decide when the academic
year is to start, it was deemed impossible to start the academic year in April
as usual. Federal Caretaker Education Minister Shams Kassim Lakha chaired the
meeting, held in Karachi, where it was decided to postpone the academic year to
August. The main reason for this decision was the delay in printing of textbooks
in Sindh.
"All issues have been settled, the printing process has been
started and is expected to be complete by July," assured the outgoing chairman,
Solangi.
He said that of the 200 printing firms registered with the STBB,
only 85 are active. These firms have received printing contracts and will print
about 25 million books. He said that the reason for the delay was not internal
to the STBB, but created by the Sindh education ministry and has been
resolved.
Solangi added that 5 million books will be printed by the STBB
itself, earning Rs 15 million. The paper for all books has been provided by the
STBB. "Once the printing is complete, which is expected to happen in July, the
books will be distributed all over Sindh," he said.
The outgoing chairman
is a retired academician in the field of science and technology, while the new
chairman is from the department of physics, neither of which relate closely to
the aspect of printing books and related matters.
Sources in the STBB
said that textbooks for class one have not yet been printed while textbooks for
the remaining classes are currently on the printing presses. Daily Times
SPLA urges restoration of teachers unions
The Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) on Sunday urged the need
to restore teachers' unions in the province so that the teaching community can
play a positive role in the department.
SPLA leaders Prof Riaz Ahsan,
Prof Manzoor Chishti, Prof Liaquat Aziz, Prof Ayoub Marri, Prof Yaqoob Chandio
and others allegedly said that the previous provincial government had banned
teachers' bodies in retaliation to their voice against the manipulation of
funds, corruption and other irregularities in educational institutes.
In
a statement, the SPLA welcomed the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led government
in Sindh and demanded of them to initiate a probe into the manipulation of
funds, corruption in all the education boards, privatisation of institutions and
changes in the education system.
They also demanded of the Sindh
education minister to restore teachers who were sent on forceful leave by the
former rulers and issue orders of withdrawing notices served on the teachers by
the previous government.
They also demanded that the college teachers'
vacancies be upgraded, orders of promotion to more than 900 vacancies to grade
18, 19 and 20 be issued, and that 863 lecturers, made functional on an ad hoc
basis in the province, be made permanent following the decisions made by the
Punjab and NWFP education departments.
They also suggested to the
government that in-service teachers be appointed to the education boards,
colleges and other institutes instead of filling the vacancies by appointing
retired officials.
They appealed to the provincial government to end the
anti-teacher policies adopted by the previous rulers and promote a
education-friendly culture to improve the quality education in the province. The News
NUCES students design low-cost crane for docks
Karachi: A group of students at the National University of Computers and
Emerging Sciences (NUCES) has designed a crane for use at dockyards, keeping in
view the cost efficiency, ease of control and assurance in keeping danger to
life at a minimum.
Studying in their final year at the department of
computer and telecom engineering, Saad Chaudhry, team members Moosa Yasir,
Naveed Ahmed and S Farhan Ali and supervising instructor Muhammad Asif have
presented this fifth semester course project, called "Triptych" at the SPEC-2008
held at the NED University for Engineering and Technology.
The simulated
crane is mechanically designed for 4-way motion and is constructed from plywood
using gear ratios and torque speeds matching that of a dockyard crane. It has a
control box to manage all the circuitry and is implemented using decoding
techniques. After decoding, it is possible to reduce the 26 aspects of input
required to just 12.
A C++ program is designed to interact with the user.
This programme makes the user aware of the maximum limits of Triptych's
movements using a buzzer. Further development plans include modules for a closed
loop feedback mechanism, the implementation of a micro-controller module and
control using a PDA.
Chaudhry said that the industrial models
are very different from those described in classrooms. Practical exposure shows
how theoretical tools can be applied to real equipment. These projects are the
first steps toward actual engineering design and application.
Triptych
can lift loads up to 1 kg using an electromagnetic hooking mechanism.
Exclusively designed for this purpose using discrete components, it simulates
the functionality of modern lifting mechanisms. Not only is it as multipurpose
as modern crane systems, but also has the same mechanical sound produced by back
and forth movements and complete 360-degree revolutions.
Maneuvering a
crane is a very intricate job, often requiring a complete team of skilled
personnel and a harmonious working atmosphere. The idea behind the project was
to develop a multipurpose and easy-to-manage goods-lifting mechanism by
incorporating a new level of creativity and ingenuity to face the challenges of
the real world.
There are hundreds of scientifically developed algorithms
that can be used to drive the goods-lifting mechanism of a crane. Obviously a
plain motor is not suitable for use in a crane because controlling the direction
by using the calculated speed of the motor is an impossible task and direction
control can only be achieved by using relays or H-Bridges that occupy a lot of
space on the PCB and even add to its complexity, Chaudhry added.
The
purpose of Triptych is to make man's work easy. It can revolutionize the
construction industry, where a team of laborers is required to construct a
high-rise building. With concepts such as Triptych in use, one qualified person
can do the job of 100 men, with twice the precision. It can well adjust itself
to a harbor as busy as Karachi's, where tons of goods arrive daily and it takes
hours to load and unload vessels. This work can be completed in minutes using
half the workforce. The Gwadar port will has contracts to install such cranes in
order to facilitate trade and commerce.
Talking about the software,
Chaudhry said that the software offers the user the choice of electromagnets
available, and then offers a sub-menu to control the course. Once the crane has
moved to its limit in a particular direction, the software will restrict further
motion and generate a notice for the user. It can maintain a record of movement
in all four directions.
The software also has a provision to allow manual
control of movement, overriding the built-in limits on movement mentioned above.
However, this option is kept password-protected, so that only experienced
operators have access.
"We learned to integrate software and hardware
with mechanics in a successful manner. Such projects definitely encourage
students to move beyond conventional ideas, to display their hard-earned
knowledge in a useful and creative way. This project also provided us with the
glimpse of how to work for FYPs and execute complex ideas in a way
understandable and attractive to the layman," Chaudhry said. Daily Times
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