Sindh Governor fires BSEK secy, exam controllers

Top officials involved in SSC exam scam sacked
Karachi, April 10: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan has terminated the services of several top officials of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi and ordered action against others following the inquiry committee report that found their role in the mass-scale malpractices in the ongoing BSEK examinations.

Those whose service contracts were terminated with immediate effect were BSEK secretary Prof Asif Pasha Siddiqui, controller of examinations Syed Jawed Iftikhar and deputy controller of examinations Bizzatullah Khan.

The governor, who is also the controlling authority of educational boards of the province, had formed a two-member committee to inquire into the incidents of malpractices in the examinations and setting up of an illegal examination centre.

The governor also ordered action against seven other officials of the BSEK and the city district government's education department under the Removal of Service Ordinance.

According to well-placed sources in the Governor's House secretariat, the seven officials of the BSEK and the CDGK's education department against whom the governor ordered action under the ordinance included the BSEK's assistant controllers of examinations, Imran Tariq Butt and Din Mohammad; System Analyst Mohammad Ashraf; center superintendent and principal of the Government Agro Technical High School, Shah Faisal Colony; members of the vigilance team Sharif-ul-Islam Khan and Mohammad Iqbal and a chowkidar of the school.

The governor also ordered that criminal cases be instituted against individuals found involved in malpractices in the examination and setting up the illegal examination centre at Shah Faisal Colony's Al-Umer Foundation School, the sources said.

They added that those people included Al-Umer Foundation School's owner Farooq Umer, principal Asifa Asad, teacher Madeeha Rashid, Government Boys Secondary School's Rehbar-i-Taaleem Arjumand Aziz, candidate Zulqarnain and his father, Haider Abbas, who reportedly transported teachers and candidates from an examination centre set up at Shah Faisal Colony's Government Agro Technical High School to the unauthorised examination centre which was set up at Al-Umer Foundation School for its own students.

Dr Ishratul Ibad also ordered that all institutions found involved in malpractices in the examinations be 'black-listed' and should never be made examination centres in the future.

According to a Governor's House press release issued here on Thursday, the Sindh governor presided over a meeting to review the recommendations of the committee submitted to him on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended, among others, by the committee's convener and adviser to governor Yousuf Jamal Khan and the committee's member and chairman of the Sindh Board of Technical Education, Prof Saeed Siddiqui, governor's principal secretary Mumtaz-ur-Rehman and Special Secretary Rabia Javeri Agha.

On the occasion, the governor announced a number of measures aimed at ensuring transparency in the examination system so that only hardworking and intelligent students could get through in the examinations.

In this regard, he directed the board's officials to get all the examination papers printed with security codes at the Security Printing Corporation and the entire examination record of the board be computerised as well as kept manually.

Terming the element of transparency in the examination "a key to quality education', Dr Ibad said that a high standard of education not only enabled talented and intelligent students to show their worth, but was also an essential element in the progress of the country.

In an attempt to improve the examination system, the governor announced that a task force, composed of educationists, members of civil society, the media, chairmen of the educational boards and high officials of the governor's secretariat, would be set up.

The task force would be asked to submit its recommendations to the governor within a fortnight so that the examination system could be improved in the light of its recommendations.

The governor also announced the setting up of a monitoring and reform cell in the Governor's House for dealing with the affairs of the educational boards. Dawn

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KU VC disappointed over campus incident
Karachi: The Vice-Chancellor of Karachi University, Prof Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, has showed his disappointment on recent incidents of indiscipline on campus.

Students of the Business Administration Evening Programme had boycotted classes on Wednesday evening after an argument with a teacher during class. The teacher had argued that a certain political party had not supported East Pakistan during crises. The students had disagreed and misbehaved with him and boycotted all evening classes.

A University statement said that the KU VC chaired a meeting of the faculty deans, advisers and representatives of the teachers' society over the issue.

He said that disruption of academic activities for any reason should not be tolerated.

He stressed that university disciplinary rules are enough to enable administration to take stern action against the irresponsible and rowdy students.

The VC has directed the concerned officials to employ all possible means to bring order and discipline on campus. Daily Times

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KU to seek parties' help to restore order on campus
Karachi: Against the backdrop of high incidence of serious violation of the university's disciplinary code and boycott of classes by student groups, the Karachi University (KU) administration has decided to enlist the help of political parties in order to ensure responsible behaviour of their respective student wings on the campus.

A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting chaired by Vice Chancellor Professor (Dr) Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui.

The meeting was attended by deans of various faculties, advisers and representatives of the KU teachers' society. The meeting was called after the vice chancellor resumed his charge on Thursday after two days' absence.

He was reportedly busy in hearings of the Sindh Assembly's Public Accounts Committee that had been called to discuss issues pertaining to universities.

Expressing disappointment over the acts of indiscipline by student groups, the vice chancellor warned students of serious consequences if they continued with violent behaviour and disrupted academic activities for any reason.

"Stern action would be taken against irresponsible and rowdy students under university disciplinary rules," he said while directing officials concerned to employ all possible means to bring back order and discipline to the campus.

Later, the vice chancellor constituted a high-powered committee comprising senior teachers to meet leaders of the political parties and ask them to ensure demonstration of a responsible behaviour by their respective student wings on the campus.

The meeting also decided that the Students Advisory Council would be restructured and immediate necessary security measures would be taken.

Although violence and boycott of classes have remained an essential element of student activism on the campus in the past, the university has been facing a serious law and order situation for over a year during which six students have been killed and seven major robberies have taken place.

Meddling in administrative and academic affairs by student groups openly supported by political parties had been unheard-of during the past two years, said sources while claiming that there had been around 300 appointments in the non-teaching cadre purely on political grounds.

Student groups also tampered with examination copies and records and suspended classes on one issue or other - often on the flimsiest of pretexts, the sources said.

In recent weeks, loudspeakers were extensively used by various student groups during their functions and activities which disrupted classes and academic activities in many departments. However, the administration remained a silent spectator, they said.

Controversy

The case of alleged derogatory remarks made by a visiting faculty member about a political party leader has been resolved after an apology was issued by the teacher concerned, the APP adds.

This was stated in a Karachi University press release issued here on Thursday.

It said that the matter was resolved after a meeting between the students' group and the dean of the faculty of management and administrative sciences, Professor (Dr) Abuzar Wajidi, and the chairman of the Karachi University Business School, Dr A.R. Zaki, on Thursday. Dawn

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KU senate poll
Karachi: The University of Karachi has postponed indefinitely the election of its senate's 12 seats reserved for college teachers. The election was scheduled to be held on April 15. App

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SHC allows girls to live at Jamia Binoria
Karachi: A SHC division bench, comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Malik Muhammad Aqil, allowed two girls of Mirpurkhas who had converted to Islam from Hinduism to live at Madressah Jamia Binoria.

The bench passed the order after the statements of the girls, Ayesha and Marium, who said that they had embraced Islam of their own free will, against the consent of their parents. They added that no one had kidnapped them and they are happily living at Jamia Binoria. The petitioner, Mohandas, submitted that Maulvi Hafizur Rehman, Imam of Madina Masjid, Mirpurkhas abducted his daughters, Monica Bai and Lilawati. After their abduction, the girls were shifted to Jamia Binoria, Karachi two days later. He said that the Maulvi allowed him to meet his daughters but only in the presence of armed madressah officials. He alleged that the Madressah people asked him to convert to Islam if he wanted his daughters back. The petitioner's counsel, Advocate Noor Naz Agha, prayed the court to order the recovery of the girls but to no avail. ppi

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Privatisation of technical institutes opposed
Hyderabad: Students of Technical College Hyderabad under the banner of Students Action Committee mostly belonging to Jeay Sindh Students Federation held a demonstration and a sit-in outside the press club on Thursday in protest against proposed privatisation of institutes of technical education and the Sindh Board of Technical Education.

JSSF central president Habib Bhutto and other party office-bearers said that the technical college was being privatised and spadework on its privatisation had already started.

They warned that it would not be allowed under any circumstances and said that the rulers were depriving the poor students of Sindh of their right to education and forcing them to commit suicide.

They said that the students would now hold demonstrations across the province against the privatisation of educational institutions and besiege residences of rulers.

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Primary schoolteacher demonstration
The candidates who had passed an IBA-conducted test for primary schoolteacher jobs held a demonstration outside the press club in protest against delay in issuance of posting orders and re-holding of test for the same posts on April 26.

The protesters who belonged to Tharparkar district said that they had received offer letters last year but then the withheld issuance of posting orders.

They said that hundreds of qualified candidates had been deprived of jobs and demanded that the test scheduled for April 26 should be postponed and their problem should be solved immediately.

They appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take notice of the injustice.

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Teachers want VC removed
Khairpur: A group of teachers of the Shah Abdul Latif University took out a rally at the campus on Thursday to protest against what they called illegal acts of the university's vice-chancellor.

Led by Dr Abdul Majeed Chandio and Asad Shah Abidi and carrying banners inscribed with slogans of "Save SALU and protect teachers from harassment," the protesters marched on different roads at the campus.

Later, a meeting was held at teachers' committee room. Speaking on the occasion, Professor Imdad Chandio, Abdul Majeed, Asad Abidi and others said that certain teachers had been deprived of their legal benefits by the vice-chancellor.

They said that Professor Dr Ghulam Mustafa Shar was illegally removed from the chairmanship of department of archaeology. They demanded reinstatement of Dr Shar and an inquiry into his removal.

Through a resolution, they demanded removal of Vice-Chancellor Dr Nilofer Shaikh, who was appointed during Pervez Musharraf regime.

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SU remembers founder I.I. Kazi
Hyderabad: Week-long celebrations to commemorate 41st death anniversary of Allama I.I. Kazi – founder and vice chancellor of the Sindh University - began on Thursday.

Vice chancellor, deans of faculties, heads of teaching institutions and administrative departments, registrar, teachers and employees offered Fateha at the graves of Allama I.I. Kazi and his wife Elsa Kazi under the lead of renowned scholar and first professor of the university, Dr N.A. Baloch.

Vice Chancellor Mazharul Haq Siddiqui inaugurated the celebrations by planting a neem tree inside the mausoleum. The Institute of Art and Design had arranged a four-day art and crafts exhibition at Benazir Art Gallery.

Students of Fine Art, Ceramics, textile departments and Institute of Art and Design displayed their handicrafts at the exhibition. Fine Arts students had the honour of displaying portraits of Allama I.I. Kazi and Elsa Kazi with Textile students their work and those of Ceramics, their pottery.

Dean, Faculty of Arts, Dr Mohammad Qasim Bughio inaugurated the exhibition. A large number of students and teachers were present on the occasion. Dawn

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