Karachi university teachers criticism over HEC policies
Karachi University teachers criticise HEC policies
Karachi, Aug 21: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and its policies came
under severe criticism at a meeting of the Karachi University Teachers Society
(Kuts), which also passed a unanimous resolution demanding abolition of the 17th
Constitutional Amendment that led to the creation of a funding agency in 2002 by
former president retired General Pervez Musharraf. Terming the HEC "a
white elephant", the meeting observed that the commission had gone beyond its
mandate of granting funds and been acting as a regulatory authority due to which
the interests of public sector universities were greatly harmed. The
Kuts general body meeting, attended by its 160 members, was called to show
solidarity with the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff
Association, which is observing a week-long protest against HEC policies.
Through a resolution, the teachers demanded abolition of the 17th
Amendment, which made the establishment of the HEC possible, adding that all
related actions by the dictatorial regime including the promulgation of the
model university ordinance should be declared null and void. Pinpointing flaws
in the commission's policy, they said that while the commission introduced a
number of ill-planned schemes, for instance the tenure track scheme, and had no
shortage of funds for universities to run such projects, it had been failing to
provide full recurring grant to educational institutions. Recalling the
"blunders" committed by the HEC, the teachers noted that the commission
introduced four-year bachelor of studies and two-year masters of studies, along
with PhD, programmes without providing sufficient grants to universities for the
essentially required facilities. Among the serious reservations
expressed by the teachers were over the enforcement of the model university
ordinance in some universities. "The forced implementation of the ordinance
eliminated the chances of having elected representatives on the statutory bodies
whose members are now nominated by the administration of the universities
concerned in consultation with the HEC," they argued, adding that this was
against democratic values. They maintained that the HEC should have the
responsibility of only disbursing the recurring grants, as was the case of the
University Grants Commission. The commission was also criticised for
failing to devise and implement a transparent mechanism for the selection of
vice-chancellors. The teachers demanded the withdrawal of the condition
of having published articles in HEC-recognised journals for promotion, demanding
that articles published in the journals brought out by any public sector
university should be considered for promotion. The teachers were also
critical of the HEC for having different standards for different universities,
noting that the PhD allowance in Sindh universities was Rs5,000 but in Punjab
universities it was Rs10,000. Moreover, teachers of Sindh universities were
required to obtain an NOC from the chancellor to proceed abroad while there was
no such restriction for teachers of other provinces' universities. Dawn
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Admission policy of medical varsities soon
Karachi: A new uniformed admission policy of medical universities and colleges
in Sindh for academic year of 2009 is going to be announced in coming week after
substantial review and consideration. Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister, Waqar Mehdi, said that the admission policy
would be same for all parts of the province, while the present democratic
government believed in competition and merit, hence the admission should be
based on open merit. An official of a public university of the City told The
Nation that the decision of Sindh CM Qaim Ali Shah to review and devise a new
admission policy of medical universities and colleges in Sindh was causing
significant delay in the admission procedures for medical institutions. The
considerable impediment from the government is giving huge financial advantage
to private coaching centres, preparing students of intermediate-level for
admissions to MBBS and BDS course at Dow Medical College, Sindh Medical College
and Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan Institute of Oral Health Sciences, he said. "Some
parents are paying around Rs100,000 for getting their children prepared for the
entry test. It seemed that the admission procedures would start after the month
of Ramazan, while the process of entrance test would only take nearly one month
for completion," he added. Last year more than 5,000 candidates had
participated in the entry test against 650 seats of MBBS and BDS, while the
entry test had immediately been held just after the completion of intermediate
(pre-medical group) annual examinations-2008, he said. "It is being said in
the literary circles of the City that Sindh government is trying to give some
relaxation to students belonging to interior Sindh in the admission procedures
that are carried out on open merit in different medical institutions of the
City. The government initiative can be understood through the CM's Press
statement, in which Qaim Ali Shah said that there were complaints from some
quarters, particularly from rural areas, that meritorious students were deprived
of obtaining educational opportunities. He also urged the committee to review the existing admission policy in light of
new social developments, such as the creation of new districts as well as the
establishment of new universities and medical colleges. Shah added that the new
policy should not only reflect the aspirations of the people, but also stay in
line with the injunctions of the 1973 Constitution," the source said. On the
other hand, Vice Chancellor Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) Prof Masood
Hameed Khan, while responding a query in Press conference, has already mentioned
that Sindh CM has already stated that Sindh government would prepare a uniform
admission policy for the medical academic year of 2009. Prof Khan said that
the CM had stated this in an official meeting in which Provincial Health
Minister Dr Saghir Ahmed was also present. He said that we were waiting for the
admission policy to start admission procedure. He said that private medical
universities and colleges had already commenced admission procedures to induct
students in different medical programmes. It is pertinent to mention here
that DUHS gives admissions to students in MBBS and BDS course at Dow Medical
College, Sindh Medical College and Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan Institute of Oral Health
Sciences. The nation
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New chancellor for IoBM appointed
Karachi: The Governor of Sindh, Dr Ishratul Ebad and Patron Institute of Business
Management (IoBM) has appointed Aftab Ahmed Khan as Chancellor IoBM for a period
of three years, said a press release issued by the Institute. Aftab Ahmed Khan,
who has earlier been a member each of the IoBM Board of Governors, Executive
Council and Academic Council, has also held important positions with the
Government of Pakistan's Defence, Planning, Economic Affairs and other
divisions. He has also represented the country at various international forums
and conferences. The news
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