JCW Peshawar convocation | FAPUASA black day

Over 200 JCW graduates get degrees
Peshawar, Apr 30: Over 200 graduates of the Jinnah College for Women, University of Peshawar, were awarded degrees at the 19th convocation of the college here Thursday.

Among them, six students were given gold medals for their outstanding positions in various disciplines. Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Azmat Hayat Khan, as chief guest on the occasion, awarded degrees and medals to the graduates.

Held at the spacious convocation hall of the university, the convocation was attended by a large number of passed-out and current students, teachers of the college and other officials. Those awarded gold medals included Sumaya Amin for securing first position in BSc in the session 2008 both in college and the university; Samina Mushtaq for clinching top position in BA examination; Rukhshanda Yousaf, standing first in session 2009 in BSc.

In Social Sciences, Abira Saeed was awarded gold medal for her distinction in BS economics in session 2009, Sara Shabbir Khan was awarded two gold medals for clinching top position in BA 2009 both in college and in the university, while Bushra Khalid was given gold medal for first position in pre-medical group for session 2009.

In his speech, Dr Azmat Hazat said he felt proud of the talented students being produced by the top institutions for female education in the province. "Its a real day of pride for us and the parents of the graduates," he added.

He said Jinnah College for Women had the distinction of being adjudged the best college in the province by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Peshawar for the last nine years, which is a hallmark.

The vice-chancellor said that female literacy rate in the province and region was the lowest and much needed to be done to improve it. "We are here to encourage girls to acquire higher education. Science education is very important to improve the manufacturing sector and self-sufficiency of the country. Women are more than half of our population and their contribution is imperative," he argued.

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Black day to be observed today
Islamabad: The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) has announced that it will observe black day today (Friday) all over Pakistan against the gruesome murder of Nazima Talib, a professor of Mass Communication at the University of Balochistan.

Talking to this scribe here on Thursday, FAPUASA President Professor Mahr Saeed Akhtar said that teachers would wear black armbands and hoist black flags and banners in universities as a mark of protest. He said that a meeting of the FAPUASA would be convened soon to chalk out future course of action.

He asked the federal and Balochistan governments to pay compensation to the families of academicians becoming target of violence. He demanded of the president and prime minister, governor and chief minister to announce Rs2.5 million compensation for the family of Professor Nazima.

He said that violence against teachers is on the rise. He urged the government to take a serious notice of the situation and provide protection to the teaching community. He said that the murder of Professor Kiyani at the same spot the day when he was appointed pro vice-chancellor of Balochistan University two years ago should have been an eye opener for the authorities.

Dr. Lutfullah Kakakhel, vice-chancellor of the Kohat University of Science and Technology, kidnapped six months ago, has not been recovered so far. The Higher Education Commission and National University of Modern Languages failed to take action against Brigadier (r) Ubaid Ranjha who thrashed Professor Tahir Malik. The culprits involved in the thrashing of Professor Iftikhar Baloch of the Punjab University have not been arrested. The culprits who beat faculty members of the AJK and Mehran universities are still at large.

Teachers of the University of Balochistan held a protest rally in Quetta on Thursday. It was participated by hundreds of teachers and other employees as part of three-day mourning. They demanded arrest of target killers and security to teachers.

The president and secretary of the QAU Academic Staff Association - Dr. Eatzaz Ahmad and Dr. Gulraiz Akhter - expressed dismay over the callous attitude of the authorities, who miserably failed to take action on the incidents of violence. They said that academicians were performing a noble job and to assassinate them in broad daylight without any reason was against the values and norms of Balochs. They urged the authorities to make necessary arrangements to ensure security of the teaching community in vulnerable areas.

Referring to the statement of a banned Baloch outfit that it was a revenge against torture and killing of Baloch women by security agencies, an academician said that targeting innocent people for revenge was quite unfair and unjustified.

An emergency meeting of the executive council of the NUML Academic Staff Association, held here on Wednesday with its President Syed Farrukh Zad in the chair, condemned the killing of Professor Nazima. The ASA said that the incident was embarrassing as it aimed at the killing of a female, which reflected moral degradation and depravity of our society.

The ASA of Peshawar University held a general body meeting on Wednesday. Talking to this scribe, Siddiq Akbar, president of the UET (Peshawar) ASA, said that a meeting of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa chapter of FAPUASA is expected Thursday evening to discuss the matter.

Professor Zahid Majeed, general-secretary of the Allama Iqbal Open University ASA; Professor Zafar Noon, president the University of Engineering and Technology (Lahore) ASA; M J Sangi, general-secretary of the Mehran UET (Jamshoro) ASA and M Naeem Butt, president of the Kohat University ASA, also condemned the incident and called for arresting the culprits. The news

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Academic Staff Association holds demonstration
Quetta: Teachers of University of Balochistan held a protest demonstration against target killing of Professor Nazima Talib under the auspices of Academic Staff Association her e Thursday.

Protesting teachers demanding arrest of her killers and issuance of NoC to the teachers desirous to going to other provinces.

Teachers also suspended teaching in the University second day today. Protest demonstration was led by President Academic Staff Association Kaleemullah Barech. Protestors said that killing of Professor Nazima Talib is third incident of University teachers death in target killing. After male teachers, now female teachers were being targeted which is extremely condemnable.

They said teachers are considered extremely respectable strata of any society. If he is confronted with insecurity how would they can be able to discharge their duty of equipping them with education. Paying tributes to Professor Nazima Talib they said that her services would be remembered for long.

They demanded of University administration either to provide security to the teachers or grant NoC to such teachers who have applied for transfer to other provinces. Association announced to donate one day salaries of the teachers to the relatives of Nazima Talib.

Meanwhile, no progress could be made despite lapse of three days of the murder of Nazim Talib in an act of target killing. Professor Nazima Talib was teaching at the University for the last 22 years. Police said no progress could be made in her murder. Police said it arrested 5 suspects from Brewery road here today and number of such arrests has mounted to 27 during the past two days. After interrogation, innoncent persons would be set free. Ppi

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Read Foundation toddlers excel in exams
Islamabad: The toddlers of Read Foundation School, Bhara Kahu, Islamabad, enthralled the audience with their lively performance and artistic skills on the occasion of the first annual examination prize distribution ceremony.

General Manager READ Foundation Muhammad Shafique was the chief guest on the occasion. He awarded merit certificates, cash prizes, medals and trophies to students and teachers in recognition of their outstanding performance. The result of the school remained 100 per cent.

The students also delivered speeches on different topics as well as put on display their beautiful art works, which were appreciated by the parents and teachers alike. The chief guest appreciating the hard work of students said that schools are places where knowledge is born, nurtured and passed on to the next generations, as a tool for leading a better life.

The parents and locals of the area were touched by the performance of young children, who delivered speeches and presented different tableau on the concepts of peace, understanding, tolerance and brotherhood.

Addressing the audience, the chief guest appreciated the high standards and congenial environment of READ Foundation School and lauded the efforts made by the faculty. He termed the teaching as a prophetic profession. He advised the students to excel in their studies to become dynamic, knowledgeable and devoted citizens of Pakistan.

READ Foundation School Principal Naeem Akhtar Abbasi said, "Allah Almighty has endowed us with immense qualities and potential to strive for knowledge, achieve higher skills and a higher order of being as humans, and READ Foundation is an emblem in this faith."

READ Foundation School Human Resource Manager Shahid Rafique said that the school is the largest private sector educational organisation of the rural areas with an enrolment of 70,000 plus students and 339 schools made a significant contribution towards the goal of providing quality education to a large segment of the younger generation.

Other officers of the foundation, teachers, parents and elites of the area also attend the function.

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Students learn about social issues through cartoons
Rawalpindi: Young students enjoyed moments of delight and pleasure at an educational show held at the Rawalpindi Arts Council here on Thursday to educate them about important social issues with the help of attractive and lively cartoons and comic characters.

Organised by the Society for Tolerance, Environment and Education through Recreation (Steer) and Gogi Studio, Nigar Nazar, the first woman cartoonist of Pakistan, was real performer of the show, who not only made sketches and cartoons in front of hundreds of students, but also taught them how they themselves could do it with ease and comfort.

Around 600 students from various charity-based schools operating in Rawalpindi and Islamabad attended the show in which they were informed about importance of education, environment, disaster management and other social issues.

The students were provided schoolbags having comic books, art supplies, colour pencils and colourful cartoon books.

Nigar Nazar said that she was highly convinced that there must be some kind of attraction for young students while going through their books otherwise they get averse to studies and even fail to receive true message of their lessons.

She said whenever she conducted programmes for students anywhere in the country no one from the participating students ever showed any signs of tiredness or anxiety, but instead enjoyed the environment and took great interest in learning messages through cartoons.

Referring to some of the programmes recently held in Lahore, she said thousands of students turned up for these programmes and they provided schoolbags to them having textbooks, notebooks and other material relevant to their studies.

Nigar Nazar has for over 30 years rendered pictorial humour with a down to earth pragmatism. These highly expressive cartoons have provided cheer to gloomy days and attempt to beat the hypocrisy of society. She said over last thirty years, Gogi has been featured in many booklets, calendars, posters, TV shows and newspapers and she has also published books, which are a compilation of her comic strip. The first book titled 'Glad to Meetcha Gogi' was published by Adam Publishers and second one titled 'Gogi on the Go' by Pak-American Publishers that allow readers to observe how the characters in Gogi's world interact with her and each other.

Hamad Bashir of the Steer said that the main objective of the organisation is to fight environmental pollution and degradation, disseminate knowledge and education through art and recreation along with other formal and informal means, sensitise civil society about social problems and promote democratic norms, moral values and decent social behaviour.

He said that the organisation comprises eminent members of civil society from different professions and walks of life such as academicians, artists, journalists, former civil servants, engineers, representatives of youth and senior citizens.

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OPF Seminar
Islamabad: Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) Boys College, Sector H-8/4, will host a seminar today (Friday) in connection with 100th death anniversary of Maulana Muhammad Hussain Azad. The event is a part of series of functions, which are being arranged to pay tribute to the eminent writer, Shams-ul-Immad Maulana Mohammad Hussain Azad. Professor Syed Ali Athar Zaidi will be chief guest on the occasion.

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Educational welfare society launched
Rawalpindi: The Sohaib Educational Welfare Society was launched the other day, says a press release issued here on Wednesday.

Rawal Town Administrator Arshad Warraich inaugurated the society's office at Chandni Chowk, Satellite Town.

Sohaib Educational Welfare Society Administrator Dr. Habib Ahmed Sheikh, Chairman Chaudhry Nasir Mehmood, President Javed Anwar Mughal, General Secretary Nasir Mehmood Mir, Dr. Zakaullah Warraich, Dr. Rafique Arain and Shahid Pervez were present on the occasion.

Addressing the ceremony, Arshad Warriach lauded the efforts of the office-bearers for launching an educational society. He hoped that the society would work for the promotion of education and welfare of people.

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Parents voice concern at declining standard of education
Karak: Parents of Working Folks Grammar School and College students have expressed concern over the declining standard of education in the institution and have demanded of the minister for labour to stop politically motivated recruitment in the school.

A grand Jirga of the parents of the entire district was held here on Thursday at Town Hall Karak, with the former All Teachers Association, Karak President Malik Noor Wali Khan in the chair.

Addressing the jirga, Malik Noor Wali Khan, former district naib nazim Haji Akbar Badshah, former councilors Ali Marjan and Younas, Coal Mines Federation President of Chakwal district Naveed, Dr Rostan and Liaqat Ali said the school had been established for the education of the children of labourers, but this right had been usurped due to alleged political interference.

They said the government was spending Rs2.5 million on the transportation service provided to the students for pick and drop on monthly basis but the service being provided to the students was substandard and the contractor was earning million of rupees on monthly basis from Karak, Lakki and Kohat schools but spending very little on the transportation. They demanded raising the boundary walls of the school for security reasons to provide protection to the students. The news

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Protest against merger of schools
Dera Ghazi Khan: Students and teachers of several primary schools on Thursday demonstrated against the merger of 161 primary schools into far-off schools.

The protesting students and teachers were carrying placards inscribed with slogans against the merger of their schools.

A female teacher said the schools should either be merged with nearby schools or shifted within the premises of same schools as it would be difficult to reach schools in far flung areas.

Qadir Bux, father of a student, said there was a need of establishing more schools in the district, but the government was creating problems for both students and their parents.

Sources said the merger of schools was based on a survey conducted by the district monitoring office (education) while it had allegedly ignored the ground reality and violated the set rules.

EDO (education) Malik Irshad said the decision on merging of schools was taken to save extra expenditures. Dawn

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