Still no education policy
Education in Pakistan is in a total mess
Islamabad, Aug 04: The Pakistan Coalition for Education has rightly criticised the government's
tardiness in announcing Pakistan's education policy. It is now four years since
the policymakers in Islamabad decided - and correctly so - that the education
policy introduced in 1998, and which was meant to be in place until 2010, was
highly inadequate and needed far-reaching revisions. As a result, a body was set
up under a retired bureaucrat to review the matter and make recommendations.
After extensive consultations, in 2007 a white paper was produced, offering a
sensible approach. But for unknown reasons the government has been dillydallying
on the matter. Last year, a Canadian expert was called in and another draft was
prepared in 2009. Even that was shelved in April when it was placed before the
federal cabinet which felt it was not good enough and needed more input from the
provinces. Nothing has been heard of it since then. The fact is that
education in Pakistan is in a total mess. One basic reason for the disarray is
the absence of a policy that has led to a lot of ad hocism with various
individuals and organisations acting in an uncoordinated manner. For instance,
the education budget for 2009-2010 has not been prepared under the umbrella of
an education policy. Worse still, experts now tell us that an analysis of last
year's budget shows that initiatives were taken that favoured the elite, while
financial cuts were imposed on sectors vital for the development of quality
education for the masses. In the absence of a policy, private-sector education
has expanded in an unregulated manner with the provincial governments offering
knee-jerk responses to new situations. Under these circumstances, the Punjab
government's move to set up an autnomous body with considerable private-sector
representation to regulate private schools may not address the public's
complaints fairly. Dawn
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Saudi women hold protest at varsity
Riyadh: Scuffles broke out on Sunday when hundreds of Saudi women
students held a rare protest at a university over alleged corrupt admission
policies, local newspapers reported. The protest erupted after students
were turned away on admissions day at Taif University, south of Makkah, Okaz and
the Saudi Gazette said on Monday. Female security guards clashed with
the students and female guardians as they staged a sit-in and blocked streets
and the entrance to the university, they said on their websites.
Witnesses quoted by the Saudi Gazette said that Red Crescent relief
teams treated the female guardian of one of the girls "who was beaten up by the
security women." Al Medina newspaper said the women and their guardians
attempted to storm the university's gate and were pushed back by security
guards, resulting in some injuries. The women accused the university of
admitting less qualified students and closing admissions before the official
registration date. But Hisham Al Zeer, the dean of admissions and
registration, denied there was any corruption in the admissions process, the
Gazette said. Photographs of the protest showed hundreds of women
covered in black abayas, or head-to-toe robes, standing and sitting by a
university entrance and in the street. Saudi Arabia's interior ministry
strictly enforces a ban on demonstrations, and mass protests by women in the
kingdom are virtually unheard of. Afp
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Pakistani students perform well in Science Olympiads
Islamabad: Pakistani students have showed again an excellent performance
in the International Science Olympiads and won seven silver medals and two
honourable mentions. These annual competitions in Biology, Chemistry,
Mathematics and Physics provide pre-university students from around the world an
opportunity to compete in solving challenging theoretical and experimental
science problems. Four different teams selected by STEM Careers
Programme, a joint venture of Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Pakistan
Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), participated in the 20th
International Biology Olympiad (IBO-Japan), 41st International Chemistry
Olympiad (ICho-UK), 50th International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO-Germany) and
40th International Physics Olympiad (IPho-Mexico) held last month. Mahym
Mansoor from Kinnaird College For Women, Lahore and Tayyaba Maqbool Malik from
Abdul Razzaq Fazaia College, Mianwali won Bronze Medals each in the Biology
Olympiad, wherein 221 students of 56 countries participated. Saman Zia and Nayha
Enver from Lahore Grammar School competed with 258 students from 64 countries in
the Chemistry Olympiad, each winning a Bronze Medal. Similarly, Waqar Ali Syed
from Pak Turk International School, Karachi represented his country in the
Mathematics Olympiad and won a Bronze Medal. 565 students representing 104
countries competed in the Olympiad. In the Physics competition, Pakistani
students won two Silver Medals as well as two Honourable Mentions. Harres Bin
Tariq and Muhammad Zain ul Abideen Ali Khas from Resource Academia, Lahore won
Bronze Medals while Aamir Ayub from Bahria College, Islamabad and Muhammad Musab
Jilani from Karachi Grammar School won Honourable Mentions. 317 students
representing 72 countries participated in the Olympiad. These shining
students were selected and groomed by the STEM Careers Programme in
collaboration with the Home Institutes including National Institute for
Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), HEJ Research Institute, Abdus
Salam School of Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS) and PIEAS. The IBO team was
led by Dr. Zafar M Khalid and Dr. Muhammad Saeed of National Institute for
Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad and Al-Hasanat Rasul
of STEM Careers Programme. The IChO team was led by Prof. Dr. Khalid M
Khan and Dr. Raza Shah of HEJ Research Institute, University of Karachi.
Similarly, IMO team was led by Prof. Dr. A D Raza Choudary and Dr. Ahmed Mahmood
Qureshi of Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS), Government
College University, Lahore, while Dr. Shahid Qamar and Dr. Masroor Ikram of
PIEAS led the IPhO team. It is pertinent to mention here that most of
the students who participated in the National Science Talent Contest arranged by
STEM Careers Programme invariably get scholarship for higher studies in leading
universities of the world such as Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Caltech and
Oxford. The 7th National Science Talent Contest (NSTC-7) for talented
students of 1st Year FSc/A-Level will be launched in September 2009.
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Grammar School shows 100% result
Rawalpindi: The students of the Grammar Public School, Saidpur Road Satellite
Town showed 100 per cent result in the Secondary School Certificate Annual
Examination of the Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education,
says a press release. In science group among boys, Muhammad Sohaib Niazi
got first position by obtaining 985 marks, Agha Bilal Zeb stood second by
obtaining 981 marks, Ahsan Waheed got third position with 970 marks and Muhammad
Owais Siddiqui got fourth position 964 marks. Among the girls students,
Asia Akhlaq got first position with 982 marks, Sehrish Nadeem stood second with
978 marks and Hajirah Khalid stood 3rd by obtaining 973 marks. Mina Tariq stood
4th with 971 marks. Among boys and girls 74 students got A+ grade and
remaining got A grades and only eight students got B grade. The general group of
the school also showed 100% result. The administrator of the school Shamim
Haider Syed congratulated all the students, and teachers and announced gold
medal and cash prizes to the successful candidates in the annual prize
distribution ceremony.
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Fazaia Intermediate College student distinction
Rawalpindi: Muhammad Zeeshan Ahraf, a student of the Fazaia
Intermediate College, Chaklala, secured 897 marks in the Higher Secondary School
Certificate (F.Sc) Annual Examination 2009 of the Federal Board of Intermediate
and Secondary Education, says a press release.
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FG College of Commerce shows 92% result
Islamabad: The students of FG College of Commerce, H-8/4, showed 92 per cent result in Higher Secondary
School Certificate (HSSC) Annual Examination of the Federal Board of
Intermediate and Secondary Education, says a press release. Out of 416 students
381 passed the examination with distinction. The Principal of the college
Professor Zafarullah Khan Buttar has praised the devotion of the teachers and
untiring efforts of the students in maintaining the college tradition of showing
brilliant results. He advised students to make utmost effort in their next
classes and get maximum successes in the future. The News
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