University of Peshawar high fee worried many

Parents worried as schools on varsity campus increase fees manifold
Peshawar: The semi-government schools affiliated with different universities on the University Campus Peshawar have increased their fees manifold, creating problems for the parents.

Sources said that the idea behind the establishment of the University Model School for Girls, University Public School, Islamia Collegiate School and other semi-government institutions on the campus was to provide quality education on reasonable charges to the people of the surrounding areas who had donated spacious land for establishment of the unique campus in the country.

But the admission and tuition fees and other charges have now surged to the level of the most expensive private sector schools, the parents complained. The initial charges for admitting a student in the University Model School are over Rs35,000 inclusive of admission and annual tuition fee. The school also charges students extra Rs8,000 per year under the head of transport charges, a facility that is provided to the kids of varsity employees for just Rs200 a month, the sources said.

Charges of the University of Peshawar-run University Public School (UPS) are even higher, the sources said, adding that a student has to pay Rs40,000 per year to get educated at this prestigious institution. The boarding students are, however, required to pay around Rs130,000 per year, they added.

Yearly promotion charges at the institutions affiliated with NWFP Agricultural University are Rs5,000, while monthly tuition fee there is Rs600, the sources said. Initial admission fee there too is much higher, they maintained.

The Islamia College University-affiliate Islamia Collegiate School has been charging students Rs10,900 per year from Grade V to VIII and Rs11,500 for the higher classes. Those admitted on self-finance basis have to pay Rs25,000 per year and the boarders are required to pay Rs5,500 extra charges per month, the sources added.

Parents are of the opinion that it had become almost impossible for them to continue the studies of their kids in these institutions. They have been demanding of the schools' administration and universities' head to look into the matter and lower the fees, but to no avail.

Heads of several of these schools when reached by telephone negated the notion that their charges were as high as those of the private sector institutions. They were of the opinion that they were not concerned with the fee structure and had to follow the university's directives.

The administration of the University of Peshawar on the other hand declared that due to huge cut in the grant to the university and lack of support by the government, they were not in a position to lower the charges of the schools being run by them.

"The previous government had promised to provide special grant to the university to provide cheaper education to the students of these schools. But the promise could not be materialised," an official of the university said. He stressed that the government should provide assistance to the university to enable it reduce the fees of these institutions. The news

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Schools' security tightened after threats
Peshawar: Security fears prevail at schools everywhere across NWFP after as attacks by militants on schools are continuing despite military operations since May last year.

Private educational institutions have tightened their security once again after the bomb blast near Police Public School on Monday in which one school student was killed and nine others wounded. It is reported that some schools of the provincial capital had received threats in recent past and the incident of blowing up school in City's outskirt was seemed the result of these threats. It is further reported that Education Department had directed all 'A' and 'B Class public and private schools of the City to enhance security measure to avert any untoward incident.

The source of private schools association has said the government had also directed principals / heads to remain vigilant and not to allow vehicles near school and college buildings.

He said a security plan had been devised for private educational institutions, under which all the students would not be allowed to come out at once as the school closes. The sources in Education Department revealed that the government has planned to take stern action for security lapses in the private schools. Many schools have reported installed CCTV cameras at the gates and buildings of private schools for security reasons and hired private security guards. Meanwhile, efforts are under way to revive the education system in areas affected by fighting between security forces and militants. It is to mention here that several schools had been blown up in the recent past in provincial capital and in its surroundings in the terrorist attacks earlier; however the reconstruction cannot be started yet. Number of schools were destroyed in Khyber Agency special in its Bara tehsil where particularly girl schools were been targeted. A government report on July 24, 2009 reveals that around 60 percent of schools in Swat have been destroyed by militants over the past two years. It is also reported that provincial government has directed municipal administration of provincial metropolis to take immediate steps against illegal encroachments near all governmenty and private schools and demolish all kind of such encroachments. It is further directed that schools administrations were also asked to remove push-carts and vedors standing outside of their schools to avert any possible miscreant activity.

Moreover, the security of provincial capital has further enhanced and additional check posts were set up in various areas of the City. The entry and exit points of the city are strictly covered by the police and security forces and each and every vehicle was checked by the police.

The security measure have however created fear and panic in the city and people were reluctent to go outside for shopping and other necessary work which also bady affected the business activities in th markets. F.P report

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Bone Bank set up at SMC
Karachi: The Sindh Medical College (SMC), an affiliated institution of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) has established a "Bone Bank," with as many as 35 sets of complete human skeletons made available to students aspiring to study bones.

DUHS Pro Vice-Chancellor and SMC Principal Prof. Tariq Aziz said that the bone bank would help students to acquire artificial but high-quality bones for research and study purposes.

"Students can now get these bones issued in their name, similar to how they issue books from a library," he said.

Prof. Aziz added that a need for this bone bank was being felt since long, as students faced a number of difficulties in acquiring bones for study purposes.

Dow Medical College Principal Junaid Ashraf highlighted the importance of Bone Bank, while Dr Tariq Kamal Jaffari, Dr Nighat Nisar and Dr Irfan Ashraf also spoke on the occasion. The news

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K'architecture launched at IVSAA
Karachi: K'architecture, a coffee-table book featuring seven photo essays on Karachi and architecture was launched on Thursday at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. The book features photographs by Tapu Javeri, Arif Mahmood, Farah Mahbub, Izdeyar Setna, Farzad Bagheri, Fareena Chanda and Amean J.

The book is a collaborated production of Black Olive Publication and the Institute of Architects of Pakistan, and it was edited and complied by Arshad Faruqui and Amean.

Mahbub's pictures feature the city's once-majestic colonial-era buildings. Shot in glorious black and white, the buildings seem to pop out at the viewer. According to her, the book documents and tries to preserve the wonderful architecture of Karachi that is fading away day by day. She said all the photographers were given the freedom to shoot whatever they wanted either in colour or black and white.

On the other hand, Amean's pictures focused on the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in a series titled "Unity, Faith and Discipline". According to him, he chose the mausoleum because it was the biggest and most beautiful landmark in the city.

Mahmood concentrated on Soldier Bazaar. According to him, there was a time when the bazaar was where the city ended and it got its name due to the British cantonments' soldiers who used to shop there. His picture titled "Soldier Bazaar VI" featuring a dog lying on a floor stained by Holi colours was a huge favourite with the public.

However, Javeri had a different view and said it was an amazing experience, but distressing at the same time, as the city no longer had any civic pride. His pictures featured historic buildings from MA Jinnah Road, Kharadar, Jodia Bazaar, Burns Road and Khori Garden. Setna focused on the fading Parsi settlements in the city and Chanda photographed the present conditions of the buildings of Karachi that used to be magnificent, but are now dilapidated and reduced to storing trash.

In contrast to the rest, Bagheri took a different approach by photographing the beautifully built modern houses designed and owned by the famous architects Najeeb Omar, Faruqui, Ezaj Ahed, Tariq Hasan and a host of other people. Daily times

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