Cheating in matriculation exams | SSC postponed exams

'Cheating on the rise in matriculation exams'
April 18, Mirpurkhas: Chairman Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Mirpurkhas, said on Tuesday that cheating and use of unfair means in examinations was on the rapid rise as more and more girls were also adopting this practice.

Chairman BISE Shafiq Ahmad Khan said that in the ongoing matriculation examinations under his board, over 55,000 candidates are taking part in Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, Sanghar and Umerkot districts.

He said that over 13,000 girls are also among the candidates participating in the exams.He further said that all the eight vigilance teams of the BISE had been conducting raids at different examination centres and each one had recovered two to three bag-full of cheating materials in just one exam.

"Until and unless students, teachers and parents decide to stop this menace, nothing can be done," he said, adding that he feels none of these stakeholders would ever be on the same page on this issue due to their own dishonesty and greed for easy grades either for themselves or for their sons and daughters.He suggested that if the invigilators search every single student and take away cheating material and cell phones at the time of entering exams hall, it will make a huge difference.

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Closure of 30 schools in Kati Pahari deprives 25,000 students of education
Karachi: At least 25,000 children have been deprived of their right to education in Kati Pahari and its adjoining areas as 30 government schools have been closed and some 400 teachers have stopped coming to work after the area was hit by a wave of targeted killing and violence in July 2011.

The closure of schools has only exacerbated the already appalling educational standards in the area. The education rate in Kati Pahari is a paltry 17 percent, drug use among youngsters is rampant and the poverty so excruciating that half of all households eat the same stale bread for dinner as they do for breakfast, according to an Education Sector Reform Assistant Programme (ESRAP) report by the USAID.

The road which cuts between the two hills of Kati Pahari is filled with signs of the area's troubled past. On one side lies a drug den where teenagers flock to buy heroine or charas. The wall of a nearby school is punctured with bullets; three other schools lie in ruins, with one of them being used as a garbage dump.

The lack of schools is felt most in the areas that surround Kati Pahari, such as De Silva Town, Qasba Colony, Bhutto Colony, UC-13 Orangi Town and Manghopir Road Colony.

The education department was taken by surprise when contacted about the shutdown issue. Unfortunately, Secretary Education Siddiq Memom could not comment on the issue because of a health condition.

Niaz Leghari, Director Schools, after asking for a day to give his comments on the issue, informed that "the schools were closed due to prolonged violence in the area; the teachers were being harassed, and the students felt insecure".

Though the education department could not come up with a list of affected schools, Leghari maintained that notifications to inquire into the matter had been sent after he had been informed about the issue.

However, there is a glimmer of hope for the people of Kati Pahari. This hope comes in the form of a 23-room co-educational school run by the Bright Education Society. The school imparts education to some 700 students from all backgrounds in an area torn by ethnic violence. The Muslims, Christians, Punjabis, Pakhtuns and Urdu-speaking eat together in the school's dining hall during the lunch, and once a month they gather to watch a movie.

Headmaster Abdul Waheed Khan says that the school follows the principles laid down by Socrates for his own schools. "No one is allowed to fight and everybody has to wait for his turn," he says.

Khan was born in the locality. Though his fair sun-burnt skin and accented Urdu gives him the air of a Pakhtun, he says that he is actually a "mixed-breed". "My mother was Urdu-speaking and my father was a Pathan," he says proudly.

When the school first came into existence back in 1997, it was nothing more than a collection of straw huts. Now, 14 years later, the school features a spacious building, boasts a 90 percent A1 result in the last matriculation exam, and has teachers trained by the Aga Khan University-Institute of Education.

Khan recalls how the students were affected by the wave of violence last year. "They would come with toy guns in their bags, and play "kill the other ethnicity. The teachers had a tough time getting them to mend these habits."

However, the school has not been completely spared by the violence in which it finds itself. "From August 1, our funds will be exhausted," he shares. Khan does not take foreign funds, as he is scared that the community may brand him as an American agent. Instead, he relies on philanthropists and businessmen from the locality. But the violence has had its toll on the finances of philanthropists and businessmen too.

But this school is unable to cater to the needs of all the students in the area. Given the dearth of local education facilities, youngsters have drifted to drug abuse and political vandalism in the area. The few private schools that are still functioning have seen a marked drop in attendance.

"Students who once went to school now roam around on the streets, waiting for a law and order situation to erupt, for this is when they can pick pockets and indulge in petty crimes," says Sajid Hussain, a private schoolteacher from the area.

He maintains that during strikes, political parties use these children for arson, stone pelting and blocking roads. "They say criminals are born here: how can they not be? What has the government and society done to provide them with a good life? They will react by burning the factories of the rich." Over 7,000 of Sindh's schools are closed; however, the education minister recently claimed to have made about 3,000 closed schools functional. The news

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Vice principal of college killed
Karachi: In what appeared to be part of the ongoing targeted killings on sectarian grounds, the vice principal of a government technical college was shot dead in the Nazimabad area on Tuesday, police and leaders of a religious organisation said.

Imran Zaidi, the vice principal of Jinnah Polytechnic College, in his late 40s, was attacked while he was driving home in his car (T-8473) from work in the evening.

The police said two assailants riding a motorbike fired multiple shots at his 1000-CC car when it was passing the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) building.

"As told by witnesses, both attackers were wearing helmets," said SP Tanveer Alam Odho of North Nazimabad. "The victim sustained serious injuries and was being taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital when he died. The killers used 9mm pistol in the attack."

He said the police cordoned off the crime-scene to collect evidence and more details about the incident. He, however, sounded convinced that the victim was killed on sectarian grounds.

Officials at the hospital said the victim, shot at close range, sustained four bullet wounds mostly in the upper torso. The official in the medico-legal section, further stated that one of the bullets pierced the victim's forehead.

A resident of North Karachi, Imran Zaidi was father of two and had been associated with the profession for more than 20 years.

The killing attracted strong reaction from religious circles and the teacher fraternity. Condemning the incident, they said that the provincial government and the city administration had failed to provide security to the life and property of the citizens.

"In district central alone, some 22 members of our community have been gunned down on sectarian grounds within the last three months or so," said Allama Ali Anwar of the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), which had organised a sit-in outside parliament in Islamabad last week to register its protest against the ongoing wave of violence against the Shia community.

He said the authorities concerned had assured the protesters of concrete measures to check the trend that had affected many parts of the country, the situation was aggravating with each passing day.

"We believe that the government is not serious in tackling the situation as it has not even removed the police officers concerned in Karachi's central district despite so many such incidents having taken place within their remit. The people of Karachi have been left at the mercy of armed groups, who strike their targets with impunity."

The teacher fraternity also condemned the killing and described it as a direct threat to the people associated with the noble profession.

Meanwhile, the Anjuman-i-Islamia Trust, which manages the affairs of the Jinnah Polytechnic College, has announced suspension of all activities at the institution till Thursday to mourn the death.

"We condemn the killing," said a college spokesman, adding that Mr Zaidi had been associated with the college for many years and commanded great respect among his colleagues and students. He urged the government to investigate the murder and punish the culprits at the earliest.

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Dates for postponed SSC exams
Karachi: The Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) has released its new schedule for the SSC examinations that could not be held on April 10, 11 and 14 due to the poor law and order situation in the city.

According to a BSEK handout issued on Monday, the April 10 English (compulsory) paper-II of Science Group will now be held on May 8 in the morning session at all centres.

The English (compulsory) paper-II of General Group, which could not be held at the Government Boys Secondary School, Jinnah Square Malir, on April 11, will now be held on May 8 in the afternoon session (2pm to 5pm).

The SSC Science Group's Mathematics for Class X, which could not be held at a total of six different examination centres in Lyari Town on April 14, will now be held on May 27 in the morning session.

The examination centres will remain unchanged, said the BSEK communication.

In the meantime various vigilance teams detected three cases of impersonation at a centre in Orangi Town and 13 cases of cheating at three different centres located in Shah Faisal and Landhi towns on Monday.

The BSEK controller of examinations, Rafia Mallah, paid a visit to the examination centre located at the Civic Public Secondary School, Nazimabad, and warned the centre superintendent of changing the centre if he failed to reign in the "rampant mismanagement". Dawn

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'Recruitment of 19,000 teachers soon'
Karachi: Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq has said that recruitment of 19,000 teachers in Sindh would be carried out soon on merit basis and he has already taken notice of delay in placing such advertisements in newspapers.

Talking to staff during his visit to Management Operation Office of Sindh Education Foundation on Tuesday, he said provincial education department is ensuring merit in recruitment of teachers and in this regard tests for previous recruitment were conducted by IBA and Sindh University. ppi

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Cheating saga continues at PU
Lahore: The Punjab University examination staff nabbed two candidates attempting English paper-B in the ongoing BA/BSc annual examination 2012 at home in connivance with officials on Tuesday.

According to a Punjab University spokesperson, the examination centre for Sana Sabir (Roll No 125304) and Mehak Saba (Roll No 125189) was set up at Government College for Women, Band Road, but both attempted their papers at home in connivance with superintendent Ruhi and additional superintendent Humaira Younas.

He said unfair means cases (UMCs) had been registered against the candidates and an inquiry initiated against the examination officials while staff was also been replaced.

A couple of days ago, PU examination staff had nabbed a BSc candidate, Shanzay Sadiq, attempting papers at her home in connivance with superintendent Alia Anwar in the ongoing BA/BSc annual examination 2012.

'Literacy rate increases by 4pc': The 56th convocation of Government Postgraduate Islamia College for Women, Cooper Road, was held on Tuesday in which degrees were awarded to 378 students.

Punjab Minister for Education Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman was the chief guest who awarded degrees to graduating students and distributed medals and certificates among students who performed excellently in various examinations.

In his address, the minister said education was top priority of the Punjab government which had taken many new initiatives in the field. Mujtaba said the Punjab government aimed to set up women universities in Bahawalpur, Multan, Sialkot and Faisalabad, so that new opportunities of higher education for women could be enhanced. He also said Rs 1 billion stipend was being distributed among girl students who belonged to remote and deprived areas to encourage female education.

He said the government was implementing a comprehensive programme for providing modern education facilities to children, adding the Daanish School project was a revolutionary step of the Punjab government which would minimise the divide between rich and poor students to play their role in national development and prosperity.

Mujtaba said the Punjab government had provided a sum of Rs 10 billion to promote school education in the marginalised strata. He also claimed that as a result of education-friendly policies of the present government, the literacy rate had been raised from 58 percent to 62 percent in four years.

PU seats for Baloch students: Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Mujahid Kamran has announced allocating one seat from each department of the varsity for students of Balochistan, saying that the university will bear all their expenses.

Addressing a seminar on "Balochistan – Problems and Solutions" organised by the PU and Academic Staff Association (PUASA) here on Tuesday, he said the lack of education was the cause of all the problems of the country.

Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo, ex-senator Abdul Hayee Baloch, ex-DG Military Training Centre General (r) Javed Iqbal, Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) President Kaleem Baloch, ex-chief secretary Hakeemullah Baloch, Syed Mowahid Hussain, Asadur Rehman and Dr Mujahid Mansoor, Chaudhry Akram, President Academic Staff Association Prof Dr Amir Sarwar, Dr Shaukat Ali, Javed Sami and senior faculty members attended the seminar. The news

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PU to finance Baloch students
Lahore: The Punjab University will allocate one seat in its all departments for students from Balochistan and bear all their expenses.

This was announced by PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran at a seminar on 'Balochistan – Problems and Solutions' organised by varsity in collaboration with its Academic Staff Association on Tuesday.

He was all praise for the Baloch youth studying at PU's College of Art and Design. "They have the best creative skills. We should collectively work for removing misconceptions and endeavour to solve problems of Balochistan," he said and urged all the segments of life to be united for allocation of four percent of GDP towards education.

Senator Mir Hasil Bazenjo said for the last 60 years or so, the people of Punjab were being wrongly propagated about the Baloch that they were traitors and the same propaganda was in Balochistan against Punjabis that they were consuming major chunk of the resources of the country.

"The establishment has been causing harm to Pakistan but unfortunately the responsibility has wrongly been shifted towards Punjabis through propaganda. None of the five movements launched for the rights of Baloch people were for the freedom of Balochistan. Punjab is the province that faced maximum discriminations in the last 60 years.

"After the assassination of Nawab Akber Bugti, some young Balochis started killing Punjabis which we condemn. A large number of Punjabis has been residing in Quetta," said the senator while stressing the need for cultural unity among provinces for the development of Pakistan.

Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association President Kaleem Baloch said that the problems of Balochistan were not created by the people of the province. The local leadership was not taken into confidence while taking major decisions regarding Balochistan.

Political analyst Prof Dr Mujahid Ali Mansoori said people belonging to middle class did not consider Balochis as traitors. Ghaus Bakhsh Bazenjo was a great politician who always practiced politics as ritual and the new generation should be aware of his lifestyle and honesty.

He said the first public representative government in Balochistan was formed in 1973 but unfortunately it was dismissed by a civilian government after nine months. Balochistan was the first province which declared Urdu as official language.

Former senator Abdul Hayee Baloch said Balochis would not comprise over their sovereignty and would prefer sacrificing their lives rather than becoming a slave. He said now Balochi women had taken to streets and established camps outside Islamabad and Karachi Press Clubs to raise voice for the missing persons.

Military Training Centre former director-general Javed Iqbal said the civil government of Balochistan should use Rs14 billion allocated for 'Aghaz-i-Haqooq-i-Balochistan' and if the government did not consume it, then the people should ask their Balochi rulers about it.

He said Balochis should join Balochistan police and Levies to improve law and order situation there.

LUMS: The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) will be launching 'Technology for the People Initiative (TPI)' on its campus with the collaboration of Google on Wednesday (today).

Representative of Google public policy and government affairs team William Fitzgerald would also be present on the occasion, said a LUMS spokesperson on Tuesday. Dawn

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