Teachers' recruitment test, inefficiency of Sindh University

Teachers' recruitment test postponed
Karachi, April 27: The University of Sindh administration came under fire again after the written test for the recruitment of Primary School Teachers (PST) was postponed due to reports that the paper had been "leaked," It was learnt on Sunday.

Candidates who arrived to take the test in all district headquarters of Sindh protested and chanted slogans after news about the postponement of the test was made public.

The PST recruitment exam was the third and final phase of teachers' recruitment tests. It was scheduled to be held at the National Stadium, Karachi, and other district headquarters of the province on Sunday. The test was postponed due to reports that the paper had been "leaked." Officials concerned, however, were not to tell the new date for the exam. Meanwhile, according to unconfirmed reports, the paper has been rescheduled for May 3.

It was learnt that the paper was released illegally on Saturday night and unconfirmed reports said it was sold for Rs2.7 million. It was also learnt that a local newspaper published the exam paper.

Meanwhile, Sindh University Vice-Chancellor (VC) Mazhar-Ul-Haq Siddiqi has constituted a committee to investigate the matter.

As many as 17,000 candidates were registered for the test while another 13,000 who did not have admit cards also made it to examination centres on Sunday morning. Officials, however, told them, minutes before the start of the test, that the paper was postponed.

The exams were to be held in three phases. In first phase, the HST exams were held on Friday but there were reports of mismanagement, indiscipline and mass-level use of unfair means such as mobile phones. Similar reports were published about the second phase in which JST exams were held on Saturday and the third and final exam of PST could not be held.

Critics expressed serious reservations about the Sindh University conducting the exam and proposed that all papers should be rescheduled. They also proposed that the responsibility of conducting the exam should not be given to any public sector university and the services of Agha Khan University or the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) should be sought in this regard to ensure a transparent examination.

It may be added here that a joint delegation from the World Bank (WB) and the European Union (EU) had also called on the Sindh chief secretary on Saturday and discussed matters relating to the Sindh Education Reforms Programme (SERP). They exchanged views about SERP's technical assistance, implementation, procurement, financial management, and operational manual. The delegation led by Reema Nayar comprised Peb Poeter and Zerman Tariq.

The WB is providing US$300 million for education reforms. Later, the EU also aligned with the project by granting 39 million Euros. Since the allocation of funds was made conditional to the programme's outcomes, the WB-EU delegation visited regularly for assessing the performance, official sources said. The last WB visit to Sindh was from May 1, 2008, to May 10, 2008. The News

Students flay efficiency of Sindh University
Karachi: The concluding phase of the recruitment tests for the vacant posts of Primary School Teachers (PST) was postponed at the eleventh hour here in the metropolis.

Thousands of candidates, gathered at the National Stadium to appear in, staged peaceful protest in and around the stadium to denounce the inefficiency of the Sindh Education Department and Sindh University (SU) Jamshoro.

Additional Registrar SU, Jamshoro, Mushtaq Qureshi, had issued orders to defer the test not only for Karachi but also for the whole province after reports of leaked out paper, while the test has been rescheduled which will be held on May 3, 2009.

Around 25 mobile phones that were deposited by the candidates at the entrance of test centre were also stolen.

Frustrated candidates have demanded the President and the prime minister to take strict action against the inefficient education officials and SU, causing immense difficulties and annoyance for nearly 16,000 candidates and their relatives who were gathered to appear in the PST test at the National Stadium.

They said the reputation of the Sindh University had significantly been exposed, saying that the government should have taken the services of the Karachi University instead of Sindh varsity in terms of arranging such series of tests.

The SU officials and education department immediately left the centre just after the announcement of test's postponement.

Ali Ahmer, a candidate, said the presence of incompetent and corrupt officers in Sindh Education Department and city governments' education department had drastically been exposed before the higher authorities. He said that the Sindh Assembly was dominated by traditional feudal lords and the education was not in their priority, hence the education system was being deteriorated in the province day by day.

Muhammad Yaqoob said, "Mismanagement has severely sabotaged the recruitment tests, including the last one. Here we are suffering not only the scorching heat but also the lethargic behaviour of the authorities concerned. The issuance of admit cards with significant errors to the candidates from Sindh varsity is one of many examples of mismanagement. All tests including HST, JST and PST, should be reorganised under the supervision of IBA Sukkur."

Corruption and corrupt education officers are the major cause for this mismanagement; if the Karachi University had the same assignment (holding of tests) such mismanagement could not be happened, said Kamran, another candidate of the PST. The Nation

Education Dept holds test for teachers
Thatta: The entry test for postings as teachers in the Education Department was held in the Makli Cricket Stadium here on Saturday. A total of 674 candidates, including 252 ladies, appeared in the test, supervised by the Sindh University and the district administration.

Hyderabad schoolteachers' hunger strike enters 12th day
Hyderabad: The hunger strike of junior schoolteachers entered its 12th consecutive day on Saturday. The teachers have asked the officials concerned to release their salaries of the last eight months. Rabia Qadir and others told the media that they had been observing the hunger strike unto death outside the Hyderabad Press Club for the last 12 days to press for the release of their salaries. During his last visit here, they said, Qaim Ali Shah had asked representatives of 206 teachers to meet him in Karachi, but they were not treated well there and were told that the chief minister was busy. Therefore, they boycotted a meeting with his secretary. They said they were protesting for the last five months for payment of their salaries but the authorities concerned were paying no attention. The News

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Sukkur college affiliated with LUMHS
Hyderabad: The academic council of the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences at a meeting has approved the affiliation of the Ghulam Mohammad Mahar Medical College, Sukkur, with the university after its recognition by the PMDC.

The meeting discussed academic issues of the university and approved introduction of new courses of pathology and psychiatry. It approved a decision made by the vice-chancellor to charge only semester fee from the students who had failed in annual examinations under self-finance scheme.

It decided to charge the fee only for those subjects in which the students had failed as is the practice in vogue in the Dow Medical University. Karachi.

The meeting approved university vacations from June 1 to 30. LUMHS Vice-Chancellor, Professor Noshad A. Shaikh presided over the meeting. Dawn

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Cooperation between corporate sector, varsities urged
Karachi: University of Karachi (KU) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof. Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui has emphasised the need for cooperation between the corporate sector and varsities in order to produce the suitable human resource with skills and abilities required by the job market.

He expressed these views late Saturday evening while launching the Karachi University Business School's (KUBS) Alumni directory during an event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the KUBS.

He said that cooperation between the government, universities and the corporate sector was imperative in order to steer the economy out of the current difficult times.

The KU VC said that the KUBS was producing excellent quality graduates.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) President Sultan Ahmed Chawla said that Pakistan was going through turbulent times and today's students would be tomorrow's leaders thus a very important responsibility lies with them. He also urged the government to focus on domestic resources rather than going to other nations for its needs.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Anjum Nisar said that this country had four seasons and all kinds of material and human resources that any nation could desire for but the only thing it lacked was vision and concerted efforts to make it the world's most developed nation. He urged the government to bring down the cost of doing business in Pakistan, which is hampering the growth of industry thus having a negative impact on the economy.

KUBS Chairman Dr A.R Zaki said their curriculum was up to the requirement of the job market and in order to further cater the demand of business world they were going to launch Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Islamic Banking and Pharmaceutical.

President KUBS Alumni Mahmood Arshad announced that the KUBS Alumni membership would not be limited only for the KUBS graduates but all KU graduates were entitled to become its members.

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NED initiates renewable energy programme
Karachi: The NED University of Engineering and Technology has initiated a solar energy programme for generating power for streetlights within the campus. The project is expected to be operational in a month, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering Dean Dr Nazimuddin Qureshi said on Saturday.

He was speaking at a seminar on "Renewable Energy" at the NED university auditorium.

Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) Chief Executive Officer Arif Alauddin was the chief guest while the seminar was presided over by NED University Vice-Chancellor (VC) Engineer Abul Kalam.

Alauddin emphasised the role of the AEDB and the importance of renewable energy for Pakistan. "We are right in the midst of an energy crisis in our country and there is an urgent need to look for renewable energy and adopt all measures to get on the job," he said.

Engineer Abul Kalam spoke about initiatives taken by his university in obtaining renewable energy. "Engineers and scientists at NED are designing and inventing new gadgets that could provide alternative energy at cheaper rates," he said.

Giving a presentation on solar energy, Engineer Azhar Ayub briefed the audience about lights, fans, water warmers, radios and other innovations that can be operated by solar energy. "It is a onetime investment. The maintenance rates are minimal and the benefits are enormous," he said.

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TSC exams from tomorrow
Karachi: The Technical School Certificate (TSC) Part-I & II Annual Examinations, 2009, will commence from April 28, 2009, a press release of the Sindh Board of Technical Education (SBTE) said on Sunday. As many as 1,796 candidates will appear in TSC Part-I (Class IX) and 1,475 in TSC Part-II (Class-X) annual examination this year from 43 technical schools in Karachi. No candidate will appear from the interior of Sindh except Dadu, where only 37 candidates will appear in TSC Part-I and 10 candidates in TSC Part-II, the press release said. The SBTE has formed two vigilance teams consisting of Principals of institutes affiliated with the SBTE to pay surprise visits at each examination centre all over Karachi. In addition, a Super Vigilance Committee will monitor the performance of vigilance teams and overall conduct of TSC Examination that will conclude on May 16, 2009. The News

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Education for the poor
Karachi: Sindh Minister for Katchi Abadis Mohammed Rafiq Engineer has called for equal education opportunities for the poor and the elite classes of the country, observing that terrorist and criminal elements were exploiting frustrated youths from poverty-stricken families for their nefarious designs. Speaking as chief guest at a seminar on "Governance and liberalism" at a local hotel on Sunday, the minister deplored that while the elite and affluent class was buying education, the facility was not available to the poor in the country.

Stressing that democratic institutions must be strengthened, he expressed the view that the parliamentary system was destroyed through local bodies system. App

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