Matric Physics paper leaked | SPSC examinations-2008

Matric exams Physics paper leaked out in Karachi
Karachi, April 02: The Physics paper of matriculation examination in Karachi has been leaked out an hour before reaching the examination centres. According to a private TV, large number of students witnessed at photocopier shops busy in getting copy of leaked Physics paper. One hundred thousand students are appearing in matric examinations. The Nation

BSEK to replace internal superintendents at two centres
Karachi: The Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) has decided to send external centre superintendents to the Pakistan Steel Shah Latif Boys Secondary School and to the Pakistan Steel Cadet College, both which have been declared examination centres for their own students. This development took place as a result of an immediate action by the BSEK, to avoid irregularities in the remaining papers of the ongoing SSC examination, it was learnt.

Following media reports about these examination centres, the BSEK has replaced the internal centre superintendents of these schools with external centre superintendents. Sources said that this was the best the BSEK could do at this stage. However, a detailed report has been sought in this regard. Changing examination centres in the middle of exams will result in chaos, they said, adding that as a stopgap measure, external centre superintendents will be sent to these schools to ensure transparent exams.

They also said that these two schools had served as examination centres for their own students for the past 25 years. Sources agreed that this was a clear conflict of interest and against the norms of examinations, but said that these schools had to be made examination centres because there ware no other schools in the locality in the past.

One agrees with the fact that when these schools were made examination centres there were no other schools in the locality which lies in city's outskirt. However, both Shah Latif School and Cadet College are located in Steel Town, Bin Qasim.

It may not be easy for students of these schools to travel distances for taking exams in other centres, say observers, but the BSEK could make Shah Latif School Examination Centre for Cadet College and vice versa. Things would have been different had they done it, they said.

It may be added here that as per media reports, these schools were turned into examination centres for their own students and had internal Centre Superintendents. Students were allowed to use unfair means during the first three exams since their own teachers were invigilators. The News

'Cheating in matric exams to end next year'
Karachi: Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq has said that the use of unfair means during the matriculation exams will eliminated by next year with mutual coordination of the department and the Governor's House.

He was talking to media personnel after inaugurating a primary school in the employees' residential colony, Race Course Ground Karachi and a girls' secondary school in Bin Qasim Town on Wednesday. He claimed that the provincial government would raise the education standards in Sindh by 2015 to those recommended by the United Nations 'Education for All Programme'. Daily Times

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Over 12,000 apply for SPSC exams
Hyderabad: Over 12,000 candidates have applied for Combined Competitive Examinations-2008 to be conducted by the Sindh Public Service Commission (here) on April 6 to 21.

This was announced by the SPSC secretary in a press release issued on Wednesday.

He said that candidates had been informed through letters to contact Commission's head-office in Hyderabad in case they did not receive admission letters.

The information was also available on the official website: www.spsc.gov.pk. and through e-mail address: info@spsc.gov.pk, said the secretary.

He said there was no veracity in press reports of March 31 that a large number of candidates had not received admission letters, as yet. The Commission had not received any such complaint, he said.

A few hundred applications had been rejected for want of required documents such as matriculation certificate showing date of birth, domicile/PRC on Form-D, graduation pass certificate or incomplete information in the application form and eligibility of age, he said.

The candidates whose applications were rejected were given a chance through another letter asking them to complete their applications and its requirements. A notice to this effect had been sent as the final reminder, he said.

He said that a large number of candidates whose applications were initially rejected approached the Commission's head-office fulfilling the required documents and their grievances were redressed. Dawn

KU publishes book on IR
Karachi: The University of Karachi (KU) Department of International Relations (IR) has published a book titled 'International Relations Today: Theories, Methods and Areas of Research'. The book, which is the first extensive publication on IR in Pakistan, is edited by KU Department of IR Chairman Prof. Moonis Ahmar. The book is composed of the proceedings of the First IR Conference. The News

FUUAST announced MBA result
Karachi: The Federal Urdu University for Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST) has declared MBA (Evening) programme admission lists. It said the last date for the submission of semester fees is April 10, 2009. Ppi

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Load-shedding continues to disturb SSC candidates
Karachi: The Secondary School Certificate part-I (Class IX) general group annual examinations-2009 began on Wednesday with thousands of students facing the dual problem of intense heat and power load-shedding.

Since the timings for the Class IX papers have been set at 2pm to 5pm, thousands of candidates had to endure the peak hours of heat and the humid weather conditions as the temperature continued go up. After traveling to their centres, most of them found their centres experiencing load-shedding. Spanning usually one to two hours, the load-shedding disturbed most of the candidates and undermined their performance in the paper.

The candidates at the exam centres set up in Liaquatabad, Gulshan, Orangi, Jamshed, Bin Qasim and North Nazimabad towns stated that they experienced power suspension from 3pm to 4.45pm.

Officials of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK), when contacted on Wednesday evening, said that load-shedding was carried out at most of the centres during paper timings both in the morning and afternoon. The candidates of Class X endured the trouble for one to two hours during 9am to 12 noon and those of Class IX during 2pm to 5pm.

Meanwhile, the BSEK vigilance teams on Wednesday booked 19 students of Class X (general group) and 37 students of Class IX (general group) for using unfair means. Dawn

What are the teachers doing now?
Karachi: The head master of Gulzar-e-Madina school has invented some ways to pass the time and to earn some extra money in existing "relaxed days". The school has been shifted due to the building being declared dangerous and he has nothing to do with teaching these days.

It is learnt that the teacher in question is getting Rs14,782 per month from the government. He is generally seen at Lyari Railway Station at different times of the day where he issues certificates of a varying nature.

He has possession of stamps of different schools and can issue school certificates to needy persons against a nominal fee which may be around Rs500. A certificate of eighth class can also be collected from this point, pocket allowing.

School certificates issued by him can be marked forged but the birth certificates issued by him are cent percent "original". The News

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Private schools ignore order for new academic year
Karachi: Many private schools on Wednesday openly violated Sindh education department steering committee's decision to begin new academic year on April 1.

The steering committee of the provincial education department had earlier decided that the new academic year in schools of the province would begin on April 1 rather than on Aug 1.

To ensure that the decision of the steering committee was implemented in letter and spirit, the provincial directorate of private educational institutions had repeatedly asked private schools.

'Unregistered' school asked to explain position
Karachi: The provincial directorate of registration and inspection of private institutions has issued a notice to the management of a private school to explain its position vis-à-vis an unauthorised examination centre which was found being run on its premises recently.

The management of Shah Faisal Colony's Al-Umer Foundation Public School had allegedly set up an unauthorised examination centre on its premises for its students of Class X and it was recently detected by a special vigilance team of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK).

The school's principal, through a notice served on him by the director of the provincial directorate of private institutions, has been asked to explain his position with regard to the unauthorised examination centre, use of unfair means by the students of the school in the BSEK examination and other irregularities latest by April 4, or else action will be initiated against the school and its management under Clause 11 of the Sindh Private Educational Institutions (Regulation and Control) Ordinance 2001.

The director of the provincial directorate of private institutions said that under the said clause the school's management could be fined Rs500 daily and sentenced to a term in jail between six months and one year or both. Dawn

Children's Book Day to be observed today
Karachi: The International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is being observed today in the commemoration of the birthday of famous children's writers Hans Christian Andersen. This chain was started in 1925.

Hans Christian Andersen was born in Denmark in 1805 and died in 1875. He was an author and poet who was best known for his fairy tales, loved by children all around the world. Among his best-known stories are The Snow Queen, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, and The Ugly Duckling. His fairy tales have been translated into over 150 languages, whose millions of copies are still sold every year, which has become a part of the reading culture of most countries.

Gul Afshan, Manager for Karachi Section, Ferozsons, said that their organisation had been publishing books for children for 115 years. It is worthy of mention that the sale of such books is increasing day by day. She further told that the supplementary reading books for children was mostly published in Urdu as it is still the language of majority of the population, however the books in English also have major contribution in developing reading habits in children.

It is bit disappointing that parents are not heeding on this issue much, and their focus is only on children's homework, adding that the West has much better ratio of publishing of storybooks for children, he added.

On the contrary note, the marketing manager of Liberty Books Imran told the Nation the publishing ratio of story books for children was much higher in English than Urdu, as we are not receiving healthy response for Urdu story books. He further elaborated that Liberty Books was publishing such books for 15 years and most of their authors are from the West.

Nazar Ahmed, the owner of Faridi Book Centre, said that increase in the sale of children literature is witness that the children are no more interested in violent video games. He said that he himself has bought many storybooks for his children, and it is quite satisfying that such compiled books are still much cheaper than other items.

The International Board on Books sponsors the day for Young People, a non-profit organisation, which aims at encouraging children to read more books. ICBD celebrations are held across the world and include guest appearances by famous authors and illustrators, writing competitions, and book awards. ICBD also aims to promote international understanding through children's books, to increase children's access to books, and to encourage the publication of better quality children's books.

Every other year IBBY presents the Hans Christian Andersen Awards to a living author and illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children's literature. The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children's books. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is the Patron of the Andersen Awards. The nominations are made by the National Sections of IBBY and a distinguished international jury of children's literature specialists selects the recipients Jnrg Schubiger (Switzerland) was the winner of the 2008 Hans Christian Andersen Author Award and Roberto Innocenti (Italy) was the winner of the 2008 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration. The Author's Award has been given since 1956 and the Illustrator's Award since 1966. The Award consists of a gold medal and a diploma, presented at a festive ceremony during the biennial IBBY Congress. The Nation

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