Class IX Biology paper | Gender imbalance at KU
Class IX students face muddle in exam paper
Karachi, April 14: A large number of Class IX students were surprised to see
questions from Book II in their Biology paper on Monday. Due to unavailability
of Book II up until about a month before the final exam, many of them did not
prepare from it and thus could not attempt the whole paper. An
invigilator said that on finding questions from Book II, many students
could not attempt all the questions. He said that although each question
from the book had an alternative optional question from Book 1, but candidates
who did not study anything from Book 2 and prepared from selective chapters of
Book 1 suffered a great deal. As per the new pattern, section 'A' of the
exam comprised four different papers with multiple choice questions (MCQs). Each
of the four papers had code numbers A, B, C and D, which means every four
student in a sequence had a different paper which they were required to complete
within 30 minutes. Following this, all the students were given the theory
paper which comprised Section 'B' and Section 'C'. Section 'B' required short
answers, and candidates had to attempt seven questions from Zoology and as many
questions from Botany. Section 'C' comprised descriptive answers, and candidates
were required to attempt two questions each from Zoology and Botany. In
October 2008, the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) released a
Performa that the final exam would carry questions from Book II and local
newspapers also published similar news. However, some private schools went
against the BSEK's notification and did not teach Book II to their students.
Even teachers in many coaching centres too did not touch Book II.
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'Women's empowerment causing gender imbalance in academic institutions'
Karachi: There are many causes of 'gender imbalance' in academic
institutions ranging from women empowerment to changing values, according to
University of Karachi (KU) Department of Sociology Chairman Dr Fateh Mohammed
Burfat. He pointed out that discussions on women's empowerment, which
have been going on for the past 20-30 years, have borne fruit. "We now have
27,000 students at KU and 70 per cent of those are females," he
said. Burfat said that about 20 or 30 years ago, marriages would take
place before the age of 20. When these marriages took place within relatives,
the education and occupation of the girl was not a problem. However, he added,
nowadays even among traditional families are marrying off their children outside
their immediate families, while marital age for girls had increased to 26-27
years. "Girls who are receiving higher education still have getting a
'suitable boy' for marriage as their first aim," he said. It is because of this
reason that a high proportion of unmarried people are increasing rapidly in the
country, while finding a suitable boy for girls has become an issue for
families, he continued. According to Burfat, parents think that higher
education serves as insurance for girls' marriage. "Parents however remain
concerned after their daughter's marriage because of the increasing divorce
ratio. They consider divorce as a threat, and think that girls should receive
higher education and a stable profession to enable her to continue work and
support herself in case she is divorced," he postulated. He pointed out
that another reason why girls desire higher education is that they have
fantastic 'role models', including late Pakistan People's Party (PPP)
chairperson Benazir Bhutto in politics, and former State Bank of Pakistan
Governor Shamshad Akhtar. Such examples persuade girls that they can achieve
whatever they desire in all walks of life, he emphasised. He further said
that girls are excelling in education because our society is still "restricted",
and girls can operate under certain restrictions. He said that boys engage
themselves in other activities but girls lack "social mobility" because of
restrictions, hence they focus on education only. Dr Burfat continued
that this lack of restriction on boys partly explains their involvement in
crimes and addiction, and added that there are around four million drug addicts
in the country, with about 90 to 95 per cent of them being male. Similarly,
there are around 5,000 criminals in Karachi jails with the majority being males;
female ratio in crimes and addiction would not be more than one percent, he
guesstimated. He also said that a "limited" study carried out by the KU's
sociology department suggests that girls prefer to go to medical colleges,
because they offer a higher chance of getting "suitable boys". Engineering and
business schools are also being preferred for identical purpose, he added.
Furthermore, he continued, the impact of material desires translates
into men preferring to get married to an educated girl, so that she could help
share the domestic financial burden. Dr Burfat asserted that there should be
"compulsory service" after graduation from medical school. He added that the
government is spending millions of rupees on their education, and a fine should
be imposed on those who do not perform compulsory service. He also said
that setting up colleges for boys only or fixing quotas would be discriminatory
and against human rights, as females comprise 51 per cent of the country's
population. Talking about higher education, he said that it should be made
"limited and costly". He pointed out that university education is cheaper as
compared to schools, adding that he knew many schools which charge Rs2000 per
month, whereas KU charges Rs500 per month. Only those students should be allowed
to pursue higher educations who have demonstrated the right aptitude, are
serious about education and committed towards the development of society. The News
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KU evening programme schedule
Karachi: The directorate of the Karachi University's evening programme
has announced the schedule for depositing fees and clearing dues. A
notification issued by the directorate on Monday said that the students who had
not yet paid the examination and tuition fees or any other outstanding dues
should deposit the same without a late fee as per the following schedule:
Students of the Science faculty: by April 20; students of the Pharmacy
faculty: by April 21; students of the Arts faculty: by April 22; and students of
the Management and Administrative Sciences faculty: by April 23. App
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SPSC advice to candidates
Hyderabad: The Sindh Public Service Commission on Monday advised
candidates of Combined Competitive Examination 2008 to follow the new standard
time of Pakistan for appearing in examinations. Watches and clocks
across the country would be moved ahead by an hour with effect from April 15 in
a bid to conserve energy.
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Sindh varsity organises book fair
Hyderabad: Sindh University has organised a four-day book fair to pay
tribute to vice-chancellor Allama I.I. Kazi on his 41st death anniversary, at
Allama I.I.Kazi library. More than 30 book sellers and publishing houses
of the country, including the Institute of Sindhology, have displayed their
work, offering a 20 per cent discount on every publication for teachers and
students. Books on almost every discipline have been displayed in the
fair held in connection with founder's week celebrations.A separate corner was
also set up for rare books written by different scholars on the life and vision
of Allama I.I. Kazi as well as copies of publication of his speeches and
lectures and presidential remarks along with memorable photographs. The
Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration organised Sindhi, Urdu and
English speech contest at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA).
More than 50 boy and girl students from teaching institutes and
departments of the university spoke on the life and achievements of Allama
I.I.Kazi. University's Syed Pannah Ali Shah Model School Jamshoro also
organised a free-of-cost book distribution ceremony as part of the celebrations.
University Vice-Chancellor Mr Mazharul Haq Siddiqui and MPA Dr Sikandar
Shoro, who is also member of syndicate of the university, distributed books
among students from class I-10. Sindh Textbook Board provided books.
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Woman hurls abuses at LUMHS VC
Hyderabad: Vice-Chancellor Professor Noshad Ahmed Shaikh of Liaquat
University of Medical and Health Sciences has urged MNA Faryal Talpur, the chief
minister, education minister and home minister of Sindh to take action against a
woman for misbehaviour, using abusive language and issuing threats on telephone
to him. In two separate communications addressed to Ms Talpur and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah with
copies to Pir Mazharul Haq and Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, the vice-chancellor said a
women claimimg to be a PPP leader, Ms Noorunnisa Abro, came to his office on
April 10 and exerted pressure on him to appoint her son to the university.
Mr Noshad said he told her that the boy would be accommodated against
any vacant post or newly-created posts. On the reply, she started
shouting, misbehaving and using abusive language, he added. Later in the
evening, she issued threats to him on telephone, he said. Dawn
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