NUST convocation | Allama Iqbal Open University scam
Sixth NUST convocation held
Islamabad, Apr 17: The sixth convocation of the National University of Science
and Technology (NUST) was held at Jinnah Convention Centre on Friday.
According to a press release issued by ISPR, Chief of Army Staff (COAS)
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was the chief guest at the event. Kayani
said he appreciated NUST's achievements as an institution of
"international repute". He congratulated the graduating students and
their parents. The COAS awarded degrees and medals to the students. A
large number of civil and military officials and parents of the
graduating students attended the ceremony. Daily times
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AIOU scam being probed: 2,500 students fail 'for no fault of theirs'
Sahiwal: As many as 2,500 students have failed in different
examinations held under the Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad not
because of their inefficiency but because "their answer-sheets have
gone missing". They have alleged that some university
higher-ups and a junior clerk at the local regional office were
involved in the scandal, demanding that the vice chancellor order a
high-level inquiry. Sources said, Rana Tariq Javed, the
then deputy director of AIOU regional office, changed Pakpattan and
Arifwala coordinators at the behest of Ali Asghar Hasnain, AIOU
Islamabad's director regional services before the commencement of the
annual examination for 2009. The newly-appointed coordinators,
Sibtey Hasnain and Shamim Gardezee first changed university examination
centres and then appointed 'blacklisted' invigilators and examination
staff. All students from matriculation to post-graduation level
appeared in the examinations at the two centres. The examinations were
held between November 2009 and Jan 14, 2010. Sources said many
students objected to assignment given to blacklisted invigilators -
Waqar Hussain and Abdul Gafoor at examination centres No 632 & 633
at Pakpattan and Arifwala, respectively. The coordinators, in another
dubious move, hired the services of an unknown courier company for
answer-sheets transportation to Islamabad. "All rules were bypassed in
hiring the courier company," an insider informed. The
affected candidates alleged that the coordinators and invigilators had
extorted money from some students to replace their answer-sheets,
losing a large number of them in the process. These changed
answer-sheets, they said, were later dispatched to Islamabad. The
courier company failed to send solved question papers in time to
Islamabad as a result of which hundreds of students had been declared
fail. The affected students formed an action committee which
protested at the AIOU's regional offices. The Sahiwal regional director
reported the matter to the vice chancellor after which the university
formed a three-member inquiry team, headed by Prof Dr Javed, which is
still investigating the matter. The students, however, said the
committee was showing partiality and defending the "exam mafia". Sources
said that a regional office clerk, Shakeel, who was in charge of extra
answer-sheets delivery, had gone on leave. The students have appealed
to the vice chancellor to get the matter probed by an impartial inquiry
committee and award exemplary punishment to the wrongdoers. The
students have also accused the coordinators at Pakpattan and Arifwala
of protecting an official at the headquarters, who has been at the post
for the last 10 years (though he retired on April 23, 2009). AIOU
Sahiwal Regional Office Deputy Director Bahram Khan said he could not
comment on the issue since the allegations are being investigated. Dawn
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AIOU to start PhD classes
Islamabad: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) would start PhD classes in Computer Sciences and Information Technology from the next year. AIOU
Vice Chancellor Dr Nazir A Sangi said that the first batch
of PhD in Computer Sciences would be enrolled in January 2011. "We are
in contact with some reputed foreign universities for their technical
support to start the programme," he said. Dr Sangi who is also
PhD holder from Liverpool University of UK in the same field, said the
computer and information technology programme at AIOU has been brought
at par with international standard in recent years. "The university has
revised its computer sciences curriculum by upgrading 3-year BS
programme to 4-year bringing it to the international level," he said. Dr
Nazir Sangi was at helm of affairs of computer sciences faculty of the
university before taking over as vice chancellor of AIOU. He had
received IT Excellence Award 2005, Best University Teacher by Higher
Education Commission in 2008 besides various other achievements. He
said that in order to strengthen the AIOU, the government had approved
a grant of Rs390 million which also include Rs47.5 for training of
teaching faculty which also include training in teaching skills, ICT
support system and instructional design. The grant would also be spent
on AIOU television channel, satellite, e-learning labs at 36 regions of
the university. Dr Nazir said that in order to further improve
standard of the university, he had also introduced tests instead of
assignments and credit hours for all the programmes. Similarly,
he said that computer networking at all offices and faculties had been
completed and for this purpose, over 300 computers have been installed.
He said all the 36 regional offices of the university would be turned
into women friendly campuses to provide womenfolk an atmosphere where
they could perform their duties with satisfaction and play their due in
the education sector.
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Weeklong activities at Preston University conclude
Islamabad: An inter-university 'Naat Competition' was held here
on Friday on the last day of weeklong activities at the Preston
University. In all, eleven students from different
universities participated in the competition. It was attended by a
large number of students, faculty members and people belonging to
different walks of life. The panel of judges, comprising senior
teachers, praised the students for beautiful presentation of 'Naats'
and announced the winners after thorough evaluation of their
performance. Kaiwan Haider of Hamdard University got the first
position, Adeel Musa Kazim of the Federal Urdu University stood second
and Nazima Shaukat of the National University of Modern Languages
secured third position in the competition. Minister for
Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi, while speaking on the occasion as
chief guest, said that the active participation of students in the
competition reflected the deep love of young generation for Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him). He underlined the need to follow
the teachings of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) for ensuring
betterment in this world and the life hereafter. He said Allah, who
created the universe, eulogizes the last messenger. The minister said
that the life and message of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is
the beacon for the whole humanity who always stressed forgiveness and
tolerance in the face of worst kind of oppression by the opponents. Meanwhile,
Preston (Kohat) defeated Preston (Islamabad) by six runs in the final
match of inter-university T20 Cricket Tournament. CDA Chairman Imtiaz
Inayat Ellahi was the chief guest on the occasion who gave away prizes
to the best performers of the tournament. Speaking on the
occasion, he said that many playgrounds have been renovated after their
relocation during construction of major roads in the city. "Now
playgrounds have a better look and players are being provided with
state-of-the-art facilities, but this is not the end of the road as the
CDA is planning many more projects to promote sports in the city," he
said.
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Students urged to focus on co-curricular activities
Islamabad: Preston University Pro-Chancellor Abdul Hamid has
urged the students that besides focusing on the academic side, they
must also focus on co-curricular and extra curricular activities. In
an interview, he said, "I truly feel elated to see that
our youth has got a tremendous potential to develop and grow. Unfortunately,
however, the potential of our youth is not being fully exploited to the
advantage of this nation and this country. Lack of proper guidance and
counselling has played a key role in this regard." He said
this is important from the point of view of over all grooming of the
students as well as for preparing them to lead a confident and
successful future life and career. Preston University, he said is
making a conscious and dedicated effort to provide its students an
opportunity to give exposure to their talents not only in education,
but also in other equally important areas. "It is doing so,
with the expressed intent of exploring the hidden talents of the
students and harnessing them for their ultimate benefit. Events like
'Spring Splash 2010,' organised by Preston University, help students of
this university and all other competing universities to discover their
talents and skills, and use them to their best advantage," he added. He
said that it also provides an excellent forum to the students to
interact with each other and learn from each others experiences. The
university, he said, organises such events, every semester, to keep the
students engaged in constructive activities and channelize their
talents in the right direction. "We are awarding certificates
of commendation to those students who have performed outstandingly in
studies. During 'Spring Splash 2010' we have scheduled to hold three
'Roll of Honour Award Ceremonies' to grant recognition to the students
of BBA/BS, All Masters programmes and EMBA/ EMS who have secured first,
second and third position in their respective semesters/academic
programmes, he said. To a question, Abdul Hamid said that
participation of other universities from Kohat, Peshawar, Islamabad and
Karachi in 'Spring Splash 2010' has truly been very encouraging. The
immense interest shown by the participating universities will play a
catalytic role in organising this event in much bigger way next time. He
thanked all those universities who sent their students to Islamabad to
take part in all the activities that were organised by Preston, under
the banner of 'Spring Splash 2010.' Their contribution towards the
success of this mega event has undoubtedly been significant. The news
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Faculty training programme launched
Islamabad: A programme aimed at training university teachers
in teaching techniques was launched by the Learning Innovation Division
of Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Friday. As many as 30
faculty members from 19 public sector universities from across the
country would be trained during the eight-week training programme,
according to a press release issued here. The 13th Master
Trainers Faculty Professional Develop-ment Programme has been designed
specifically for freshly inducted in-service teachers so that they can
learn the principles of teaching techniques through rigorous training.
Under the programme, recreational and study trips are also conducted in
order to give the teachers an overview of the multidisciplinary areas. So far, 357 faculty members have been trained under the programme. Dawn
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Students awarded for developing park
Islamabad: The students of local schools, including the institutions of special education, who participated in
developing a park adjacent to National Library and Resource Centre,
Special Education, were awarded certificates here on Friday.
Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in collaboration with
the US Embassy organised the ceremony at Helen Keller Community
Friendship Centre. US Embassy Assistant Cultural Attache Julia Fendrick
said the Earth Day started when a dirty River Cuyahoga in Ohio caught
fire on June 22, 1969, due to oily pollutants and Senator Gaylord
Nelson next year called all and sundry to observe Earth Day on April
22, 1970 and participate in cleaning the river. She said since then the
Earth Day was observed every year in the world. Fendrick said the
environment movement was a story of citizens to come together and
demand their governments provide healthy food, water and clean
environment and take action against the polluters. She said it was
responsibility of all of us to work for improving the environment. She
said by implanting flower saplings and trees, the students converted
the area into a beautiful garden. She also recognised the assistance
from Ministry of Social Welfare in this respect. A slide show depicting
the children working in the park in connection with the Earth Day 2010
was also screened on the occasion. Fendrick, Afshan Amir and Fatima
Rasheed distributed the awards among the students. Daily times
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School reopens
Nowshera: Administration of the Government High School Rashakai
reopened the institute after patch-up between the accused and school
staff here Friday, local sources said. The sources said the
principal and teachers of Government High School Rashakai had closed
down the school when Pakistan People's Party General Secretary Farooq
along with party activists forced entry into the school on Wednesday
last. They exchanged harsh words with Nasir Khan, principal of
the school and manhandled him along with other staff. The
administration of the school lodged a case with the police against
Farooq. Meanwhile, a reconciliation committee comprising Awami
National Party Rashakai President Siddique Kaka and reconciliation
committee Risalpur Chairman Rasool Khan held talks with principal Nasir
Khan. After successful talks the administration decided to call off
their strike and reopened the school. The news
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