Farah Dogar's case again | Quetta educational institutions closed
Farah Dogar's case raises its head again
Islamabad, April 10: Following the inquiry report of the education ministry on the jacking
up of marks of Farah Hameed Dogar and omission of provisions of the Islamic
education from the education policy 2009, National Assembly standing committee
on education chairman Abid Sher Ali has submitted a requisition to call the
meeting of the committee on April 16 at 11am in the parliament
house. Abid Sher Ali, said the whole nation
was shocked after hearing that provisions of the Islamic education have been
removed from the education policy which was presented before the cabinet for
approval. He said the country was founded on the basis of Islamic
ideology and appraising the youth of Islamic teachings, Qura'an and Hadith
should have been the priority of the government but the incumbent government was
continuing the policies of Pervez Musharraf to please the masters sitting in
America. He said Islam could not be removed from the lives of Muslims and
the government must ensure that each student was taught enough of Islamic
education during his education career. "While looking at the education policy it
seems the government has nothing to do with Islam and the policies of Musharraf
would continue," said the chairman, adding: "We condemn this act and would
register our protest at every level while remaining within the parameters
democracy." He said an education policy which would have a balanced
curriculum should have been drafted but unfortunately the current education
policy did not carry the importance of Islamic education. "Talking about
the Farah Dogar issue, he said the education ministry has conducted an inquiry
into the issue but no action was taken against the real culprits. He said Farah
Dogar was rewarded with extra marks in violation of the rules and tens of
thousands of students were affected from the act of the board. "This
issue is the top agenda of the committee and I want to know what the education
ministry has done after the inquiry report," said the chairman. He was of the
view had the media not highlighted Farah Dogar issue no one could have come to
know about he misuse of authority and taking advantage of the chair by the top
judicial officer. The News
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Educational institutions to remain closed on 10 & 11
Quetta: All the educational institutions would
remain closed in Balochistan on April 10 and 11, 2009. According to an
announcement of University of Balochistan all the ongoing examinations have been
postponed and new dates for these examinations would be announced later. Sardar
Bahadur Khan Women University and Balochistan University of Information
Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences would also remain closed for two
days. Academic activities would start on Monday. According to an announcement of
provincial education Minister Shafiq Ahmad Khan all the educational institutions
in the province have been closed in view of present situation. Ppi
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Students updated on new UK visa rules
Rawalpindi: A seminar on 'New Student Visa Rules and Scholarship
Opportunities in the UK' was held here on Thursday to provide students with
complete and updated information about rules and procedures for securing
admission in the UK universities. The seminar was organised by Falcon
Education and Consultancy Services (private) Limited (FECS) in which a large
number of students, educationists and deans and directors of various
institutions participated with great interest. The services of FECS are
completely free for all students from Pakistan. These services were recognised
by the government when Syed Abidi was awarded Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Medal of
Excellence) by the president of Pakistan in 2008. While giving a
presentation, FECS CEO Syed Abidi explained in detail through power point slides
the changes made by the UK Border Agency, especially focusing on TIER 4 Student
Visa, which has replaced the old system on March 31, 2009. He said under
the new TIER 4, students would be awarded 40 points to be successful for an
adult student visa and universities in the UK would now be known as sponsors and
would take full responsibility as a host for all overseas students divided in
three categories, including adult students, child students and prospective
students. All students accepted by UK sponsors would be issued with a CAS
or visa letter, which would carry 30 points and would be a must to apply for a
visa, he said. However, he said, the students would have to satisfy the
education providers that he or she is a bona-fide and genuine student both in
academic and financial terms. "The new system if implemented in true
spirit will weed out non-genuine students and facilitate bona-fide students
without the support of agents or consultants," he said. Syed Abidi said
in the new system, there is no need for providing six months bank statements or
proof of property or assets and the student would be required to satisfy the ECO
that they have sufficient funds to cover the cost of their courses. The tuition
and living cost would be calculated as it has now been categorized on the basis
of zones inside or outside London, he added. He also explained the
responsibility and obligation of students when they arrive in the UK and
stressed that the new points based system allows the university and UK Border
Agency to monitor and keep a track of all overseas students, which has made it
easier to track non-genuine students. Replying to a question raised by a
student, he said that the points based system would help students apply on their
own without hiring the services of agents and consultants who earlier used to
fleece and charge horrendous amount of fees for processing
visas. However, he expressed his reservations on the timeframe to process
applications especially in the light of already running HUB and SPOKE Programme
whereby hundreds of students last year suffered due to delay in processing of
their applications. To another question, he said if the university in UK
is satisfied that the student has necessary command over English language and
issues an offer letter then the high commission would not insist or compel to
produce English proficiency certificate such as IELTS and TOEFL. He warned if
any student submits fake work paper or gives false information it would bar him
for ten years to apply to UK Border Agency for any kind of visa. In the end, he
said, reputable consultants working for UK especially under Pakistan National
Education Consultants Association (PNECA) should greatly benefit from points
based system and should play a key role in improving the quality of
applications. Rakhshanda Khushal, director marketing (education) at the
British Council, highly appreciated the presentation and said it was very well
explained and the students should widely benefit in preparing their visa
applications under the points based system. She also thanked the students for
coming to the seminar and hoped that they would choose the UK as their
destination. The FECS, in partnership with UK universities, has so far
awarded scholarships worth 35 million rupees to genuine and deserving students
from Pakistan. The News
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Dr Hayward Alker IR library set up at QAU
Islamabad: A large number of students, teachers and intellectuals turned up
at the inaugural ceremony of of Dr Hayward R Alker Library at the Department of
International Relations Quaid-i-Azam University. Hayward R Alker, an MIT
alumnus and political scientist specialising in international relations had left
a large share of internationally acclaimed books and research work to the
Quaid-i-Azam university after his death in 2007. It is Dr Tahir Amin Chairman
International Relations department of QAU who was fortunate to be a direct
student of the distinguished professor and kept him updated about the Pakistan's
situation on the international front. This generated interest in the late
scholar's heart about Pakistan and Pakistan's academia and he gave his word to
Dr Tahir Amin that he would leave something valuable to his university and he
kept his world. After his death his wife also donated hundreds of precious books
for the said library. A New York City native, Dr Alker was a leading scholar
on international conflict resolution, widely respected for his integration of
mathematical and humanistic research methods. His books include "Journeys
Through Conflict" and "Mathematics and Politics." Dr Tahir Amin Chairman
International Relations department of QAU and Ijaz Shafi Gilani Chairman Gallop
Pakistan also enlightened the students and faculty members with their
memories. Professor at Graduate Institute of International and Development
Studies, Geneva, Thomas J Biersteker Gasteyger, was the chief guest on the
occasion.
He said that after the debacle of colonialism security, economy, ecology and
community's issues have become the main challenges of the new world order in the
21st century. Dr Thomas said that coexistence and relations among different
cultures and civilizations were the great debates and concepts of the 21st
century. He threw light on different world orders and their implication over
international relations and international politics. He said, "With the passage
of time world is realising the change in ecological relations and such other
concepts subsequently." Dr Tahir Amin said, "It is wrong to say that
international relations are social studies of the United States of America."
While recalling the pleasant memories and impressive way of life of Dr Hayward R
Alker, DR Amin commented, "He was one of the best teachers of mine". "His
kind-heartedness not only gave me advantages at MIT-USA but also everywhere
around the world on many extents, he added. Dr Ijaz Shafi Gilani threw light on
the life and qualities of the Dr Hayward R Alker. DR Shafi was of the view that
DR Alker was a man of wide knowledge, as he was well aware of complexities of
each subject from international relations to mathematics, physics, biology as
well as had strong command over Philosophy. He further told that Dr Alker was a
great as human being too. During the tea session students and faculty
members put up several questions to US scholar, Dr Biersteker, regarding US
hostile policies towards Pakistan. To a query, US scholar replied that the
US would reconsider its drone attack policy, adding that such debates were
underway in Washington to bring change in US policies, which earned hatred for
his country. The Nation
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Rs5bn released for HEC
Islamabad: The government agreed on Thursday to release Rs5 billion to
the cash-strapped Higher Education Commission to support its development
projects for the current financial year. The money to be released in a
couple of days would be a great relief for the commission which was about to
abandon some of its important projects. At the beginning of financial
year, the government earmarked over Rs18 billion for HEC's projects. It was
later revised to Rs16.2 billion, but so far the commission has received only Rs8
billion although the financial year is in its final quarter. The
commission has shelved its future scholarship schemes under the Human Resource
Development (HRD) project. Dawn
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UoP says 'cleansing drive' yielded results
Peshawar: The administration of the University of Peshawar claimed to have
achieved desired success in the crackdown on outsiders living in the varsity
hostels, saying, it had enabled them to accommodate all the genuine students of
the institution. Provost of the university, Dr Bashir, said the action against the students had become indispensable after a
clash between two student organisations. The cleansing of the hostels from
outsiders living there was direly needed, he added. The academician said
outsiders posed a great threat to the peaceful environment of the varsity.
The students, however, have a different viewpoint about the issue. The
students are of the opinion that they, too, were against the outsiders' stay in
the university hostels, but the administration in name of outsiders subjected
the genuine students of the university to severe torture. The students of
different departments, said that no outsider was
arrested from the premises of the university. The police baton charged the
students several times and only the genuine students of the university suffered
the injuries. More than a dozen students were arrested on two different
occasions since the issue started on February 27 and all of them were the
regular students of the UoP that is the largest public sector general university
of the province. Dr Bashir said that as a result of the drive against
outsiders, accommodation for 139 students in the eight hostels for boys, while
that for 200 was created with the opening of the D-3 and D-4 blocks of New
Hostel. "Thus we got accommodation for 339 in the hostels, which were
offered to the evening shift students. So far 100 students have applied for the
accommodation," he said. The provost further said that a total of 4,100 students
of the 41 departments of the university had been accommodated in the 12 hostels.
He added that all the female students, who wanted to avail themselves of the
hostel facility, have been provided accommodation. Meanwhile, a
delegation of the students apprised the provost about non-implementation of the
promises he had made with them. Students were assured that all their genuine
demands would be properly implemented by Wednesday next. The main demands
included withdrawal of campus police from the hostels, reduction in the hostel
charges and allowing entry into the hostel on university identity cards. The News
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Rains worsen conditions at Attock school
Attock: The Government MC Middle School, Girls College Road, is a picture of neglect amid the tall claims of the government of spending huge funds
on education sector. The students, mostly poor, and teachers are forced
to sit under the roof dripping rain water, it has been learnt. The
situation came to light, when some school teachers and students on Wednesday
asked the local newsmen to visit the school and see for themselves the condition
of the school. When the newsmen entered the school they saw the teachers
and students taking refuge in the veranda of the school as rain water dripping
down the roof had left the rooms unfit for holding classes. The local
newsmen also saw some of the students sitting in the class rooms under umbrellas
and plastic sheets. The students say it is not a new phenomenon for them
as whenever rains fall they have to face such problems, and in winter season
most of the students fall ill. In such situation, almost all students
leave the school before close unwillingly as they have no other option, they
maintained. Some students blasted the education department and the
district administration for not taking any positive steps to redress their
problems despite repeated demands. A teacher seeking anonymity regretted
that almost a century-old school was not being taken care of properly. Earlier
the school was under the administrative control of municipal committee till 1970
and latter it had been given under the control of district education department.
Another teacher also disclosed that he had been in the school since 1989
and had not witnessed any rehabilitation work in the school. The
school's Principal Muhammad Shamim Qureshi in his comments said that both
teachers and students were in great trouble since long due to poor state of the
school. Owing to the facts, the journalist and social community should extend
their cooperation to redress it in the larger students interests, he argued.
When contacted the executive district officer (EDO) education Ansar
Wazir Hydar, admitted that the Government M.C middle school's building the was
in dilapidated condition. However, he claimed rehabilitation and renovation of
the school's building had been approved by the district development committee
and the work would be started soon after the completion of tender procedure and
other formalities. Dawn
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