Filling of BSEK posts ordered | Historic Islamia College status

Ibad orders filling of BSEK posts: SSC exams scam
Karachi, April 11: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan on Friday instructed the officials concerned to hire competent officials on the posts that fell vacant upon the termination of services of three top officials of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi.

The directive was issued to ensure that the ongoing Class IX and X annual examinations were smoothly conducted and their results were not delayed.

Sources in the Governor's House Secretariat said that suitable and experienced officials were being interviewed to fill the posts of BSEK secretary, controller of examinations and deputy controller of examinations and a final decision in this regard was expected on Saturday or Sunday.

Asked what action under the Removal from Service Ordinance, 2001 had been taken against some other officials of the board and city government's education department for their involvement in the malpractices in the exams, an official of the Governor's House Secretariat said that suspension orders along with charge-sheets were being sent to all of them and the process would be completed by Saturday.

The official confirmed that letters of termination from service had already been served on the BSEK secretary, the controller of examinations and the deputy controller of examinations, who were working on a contractual basis.

Action against chairman expected

Sources in the Sindh government said that action against the BSEK chairman, retired Brig Shafiullah Qureshi, was also expected as he could not manage both the administrative and examination affairs of the board.

Referring to the inquiry report about the alleged malpractices in the ongoing secondary school examinations and functioning of an authorised examination centre in the city, the sources said that it discussed the overall performance of the BSEK and accused the chairman of being 'inefficient' and having no experience, whatsoever, of conducting exams.

When asked about the reasons behind not taking any action against the BSEK chairman, the sources said that the officials concerned of the Governor's House might have deliberately delayed their action against the chairman till the three vacancies were filled.

A number of administrative complications would have arisen if a drastic action had been taken against the BSEK chairman, the sources said. Dawn

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Teachers out to protect status of Islamia College
Peshawar: The teachers and other staff members of historic Islamia College Peshawar are out to protect the real status of the great seat of learning and adjacent Islamia Collegiate School.

The upgrading of Islamia College Peshawar to a university has put the future of the college in the doldrums, creating serious concerns for the teachers of the institution and parents of hundreds of students studying there.

Islamia College is nowhere after the establishment of Islamia College University. The NWFP Assembly Act for establishment of Islamia College University clearly shows in its chapter II, Para-2 "Islamia College for Girls and Islamia Collegiate School shall be the constituent college and school of the university."

There is no mention of Islamia College for boys in the act. "Here comes a technical problem. When the Islamia College is no more, what will the hundreds of higher secondary classes students do. Where would they be affiliated," said a senior academician of the institution.

He said the inter college must be affiliated with a board of intermediate and secondary education. "And a university that is a superior body cannot be affiliated with a board. So the future of the first year and second year students is at stake," he added.

In order to save the identity of Islamia College and protect the future of the students, the teaching staff of the institution formed a joint action committee that held its maiden meeting on Friday.

The meeting decided to hold peaceful marches and walks to press the NWFP governor, who is also the chancellor of the university to restore the old status of Islamia College. "The government should better set up a university. But Islamia College should not be disturbed and its assets should be retransferred to it," said a senior professor.

The meeting decided that meetings with authorities concerned would be held to apprise them about the repercussion of the upgrading of the college to a university and convince them of reviewing the decision of establishing a university at the cost of Islamia College. "We will also hold protest demonstrations outside the Governor's House and NWFP Assembly to get our genuine demand accepted," the action committee declared.

Meanwhile, the administration of the Islamia College University issued a notification asking all the employees from BPS-2 to BPS-21 to submit their option with the university by April 30, 2009 whether they want to join University of Peshawar or stay in the Islamia College University.

The teachers were of the opinion that majority of them had already opted for the University of Peshawar. It merits a mention here the more than a dozen of the around 20 PhD doctors and majority of the regular employees of the college have opted for the UoP.

The joint action committee also discussed the notification issued by the university, which it was earlier reluctant to issue. They said that they would submit their option once again in response of the notification. But they would focus more attention on the restoration of the old status of Islamia College and get it affiliated with the University of Peshawar.

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Eighteen CDGK schools functioning without proper buildings
Karachi: About 18 government schools in various towns of the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) are functioning without shelter, it has been learnt. Eleven of these schools are located in Gadap Town, three are located in Bin Qasim Town and four in Keamari Town. Given the lack of buildings, classes are conducted either under the open sky or under a tree.

It was also learnt that the authorities concerned have proposed a two-room building for each one of these schools, a plan that has yet to be implemented. As many as 1,726 government boys' primary school (GBPS), and 183 lower secondary schools (boys) in the 18 towns of CDGK are providing education to a total of 251,237 enrolled students.

Meanwhile, Lyari Town is one of the worst areas when it comes to the provision of basic school necessities. About 90 per cent of girls' primary schools in Lyari are functioning without toilets and potable water facilities. Students go to nearby houses when they want to obey the call of nature. The same is the case with several schools in Gadap and Bin Qasim towns.

There are also issues with seepage and other maintenance problems, so much so that a number of school buildings that have been declared dangerous because the leakage has made the overall structure weak and may collapse any time. Furthermore, no sanitation staff have been appointed. In some cases, even if this is done on paper, the staff are hardly ever found performing their duties.

The lack of sanitation staff can be gauged from the fact that only 32 sanitary workers are working in the 135 schools of Bin Qasim Town, while the sanctioned number of posts for sanitation staff in schools is 38.

Schools without buildings - Location/Name No. of students;
Gadap Town, GBPS Raza Muhammad Backak - 46
GBPS Adam Gabol - 58
GBPS Usmania - 74
GBPS Sukhio Siddiqui Goth - 287
GBPS Ahmed Bandicha - 84
GBPS H. Jarrak Birohio - 86
GBPS Pir Buksh Birohio - 80
GBPS Ghoram Borohio - 80
GBPS Ghanwar Jokhio - 64
GBPS Ghulam Muhammad Borohio - 85
GBPS Nazar Muhammad - 83

Bin Qasim Town
Essa Baloch - 29
Jan Muhammad - 45
Sajawal Jokhio - 27

Keamari Town
Shahi No. 1 - 215
Shahi No. 2 - 165
Kaka Chapra - 120
Mulladad Latti - 172.

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Budding film makers on show at SZABIST
Karachi: A number of thought-provoking short films and documentaries were screened on the final day of the All Pakistan Inter-University Student Film Festival organized by the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) Media Sciences faculty.

Students from across the country eagerly participated in this competition, with 27 short films and documentaries making it to the final round. The winner of the competition will be announced on Sunday evening.

The talent of the emerging film makers was on show, as 'Gilgit Express' ñ directed by Ali Hameed, a student of the National College of Arts (NCA) - was screened twice on public demand. The short film is about a shoe shiner boy who dreams of visiting Gilgit. The shoe shiner meets another boy, who becomes his companion after being abandoned by his uncle at the station. The film was shot entirely at the Lahore Railway Station.

Next to follow was 'Blind love', a documentary based on love stories of blind people. This touching and heartrending documentary was made by a Greenwich student. The gruesome act of rooster fighting was brought to the screen in the form of 'Kallu', a short film made by another NCA student, Naveed Anjum. On the other hand, SZABIST student Hamad Khan presented 'Tiflaan-e-Zindaan' which reflected the lives of inmates living in the juvenile jails of Karachi.

A panel discussion on the 'Future of film making in various fields' was also held, which was hosted by Abdul Rafay Mahmood, a student of SZABIST. Amina Khan the famous music director, Mansoor Khalid, the head of Content and Communication Department of Evernew Studios, and Salman Abedin the Executive Director of Contract Advertising took part in the discussion.

Students and the guests actively participated in the discussion, where important points were raised about the futures of young film makers. The guests apprised students that the market is remarkably different from what is being taught to them, and that they needed to put in a lot of hard work and effort in film making.

Khan also mentioned the importance of meeting deadlines, and said that she wanted students to prepare themselves for physical and mental challenges. The News

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