Chinese scholarships | MIT Technology Review

Chinese scholarships for 300 youths
Islamabad, Aug 24: About 300 Pakistani youths belonging to the beneficiary families of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) would be provided scholarships worth $100,000 by the China Foundation for Peace and Development (CFPD) to participate in three-month vocational training courses under the 'Waseela-e-Rozgar' initiative.

Chairperson Benazir Income Support Pogramme (BISP) Farzana Raja and Secretary General China Foundation for Peace and Development (CFPD) Dr Xu Zhensui signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard in Beijing on Tuesday.

Ambassador of Pakistan to China Masood Khan was also present on the occasion, says a press release issued by the BISP.

The MoU was signed following a series of negotiations aiming to enhance friendship and exchange programmes between the two countries. The MoU also envisaged that both the countries would carry out the programme of 'China-Pakistan Friendship Scholarship' in Pakistan.

The three-month training progamme will commence in Islamabad in September and continue till the end of the year. A Chinese delegation will visit Pakistan soon in connection with the training programme.

Ms Farzana Raja and Dr Xu Zhensui decided during the meeting that the Chinese corporations working in Pakistan should be urged to provide employment opportunities to the youths trained by the BISP in collaboration with the CFPD.

Dr Xu Zhensui lauded the initiative taken by the BISP for the betterment of the underprivileged people of Pakistan.

Farzana Raja expressed her gratitude to the CFPD for confidence it had reposed in BISP and provided assistance in training the underprivileged youths of Pakistan. She hoped that the MoU would be the beginning of a long-term cooperation and collaboration between the BISP and the CFPD.

CFPD is a non-governmental organisation that focuses the promotion of education, healthcare and poverty alleviation. Dawn

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Teacher faces hard time for raising voice against VC
Islamabad: A teacher who raised voice against alleged plagiarism by the Vice Chancellor of University of Peshawar now himself faces hard times , as somewhat controversial internal Fact Finding Inquiry Committee, constituted to probe authenticity of his own LLM degree, has recommended cancelling his degree for alleged violation of set rules and procedures, the sources told this scribe here on Monday.

The Inquiry Committee, criticised by Assistant Professor Muhammad Zubair for its alleged biased approach, deliberated upon the evidences and made recommendation to the University of Peshawar vice chancellor in the recent past to cancel LLM degree of Muhammad Zubair due to various irregularities in pursuance of his degree programme. The committee comprising Yorid Ahsan Zia, deputy controller examination (degrees) of UoP and Professor Dr. Adnan Sarwar Khan, principal of University of Peshawar Law College.

It is pertinent to mention here that Higher Education Commission (HEC) conducted inquiry against University of Peshawar Vice Chancellor Dr. Azmat Hayat Khan on the directives of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor and confirmed his involvement in plagiarism, but the inquiry against Muhammad Zubair has been conducted by internal Fact Finding Committee of the University.

The University of Peshawar VC Dr. Azmat Hayat Khan was accused by Muhammad Zubair, of including in his book titled The Durand Land: Its Geo Strategic Importance , published in 2000 by Area Study Centre, UoP, and Hanns Seidel Foundation, some passages from the book Pak-Afghan Relations , written by Dr. Kulwant Kaur of Jammu University, Jammu, and published by Deep and Deep publications in 1985.

The Fact Finding Committee in its report maintained that the list of thesis submitted to the Controller of Examinations by the Director of Centre for Studies of Law and Democracy (CSLD) director did not carry name of Muhammad Zubair, but the award list of LLM thesis sent by the then principal of the Law College carried his name.

The principal claimed that Muhammad Zubair sent his thesis directly to him, but no record is available about the persons who served as internal and external examiners in case of LLM thesis of session 2003-04. Moreover, all LLM thesis for this session have altogether gone missing quite mysteriously. It also alleged that Assistant Professor Muhammad Zubair of UoP in his LLM thesis copied contents from the book The Myth of Constitutionalism in Pakistan written by Zulfikar Khalid Maluka and published by Oxford University press in 1995. It was alleged that he even selected title of The Myth of Judicial Independence in Pakistan for his thesis quite similar to that of the book.

It said when Muhammad Zubair submitted his thesis to the CSLD Director Mian Ijaz Younis he rejected it on the grounds of plagiarism. Then he submitted the thesis to Professor Dr. Misal Zada who was principal of Law College that got affiliation from Law College of University of Peshawar. He assigned two examiners of his own choice including Dr. Ghulam Mustafa of Political Science Department, University of Peshawar, and without their knowledge made a result sheet and signed it showing as if it had been marked.

The director of CSLD, an affiliated institute of University of Peshawar, raised the issue that LLM degrees must not be awarded to Muhammad Zubair and three other persons because they had not done any thesis that constituted 60 per cent requirement of the LLM degree and asked the university to probe into the matter.

The then University of Peshawar Vice Chancellor Dr. Muhammad Javed did not take notice of it, and degree was awarded to Muhammad Zubair. The complainant stated that if a person who was at the helm of affairs pressurised any affiliated institute and got LLM degree from it without taking proper admission or examination then what would be authenticity of that degree. The CSLD Director Mian Ijaz Younis has given on judicial stamp paper that whole process of admission of Muhammad Zubair in LLM course and declaration of his result was defective.

When contacted by this scribe, Dr. Adnan Sarwar Khan, principal of University of Peshawar Law College and member of Fact Finding Committee, said two types of inquiries were launched against Muhammad Zubair including irregularities during his LLM programme and violation of disciplinary rules and procedures.

The inquiry report about violation of disciplinary rules would not be made public as the Peshawar High Court has directed the university administration not to do so unless Muhammad Zubair gives his viewpoint in the meeting of syndicate. But we have submitted our report to the Governor Inspection Team about irregularities in his LLM programme, he said.

Talking to this scribe Assistant Professor Muhammad Zubair said he approached HEC on March 10 and Governor House on March 16 this year to raise issue of plagiarism by the University of Peshawar vice chancellor. The university administration got infuriated over it and an inquiry was launched on March 17 and I was suspended on March 20 to mute my voice against illegal act of the University of Peshawar vice chancellor, he said.

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MIT honours Dr Umar Saif
Lahore: Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has announced that Dr Umar Saif, Associate Professor at the School of Science of Engineering, has been recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of the top 35 innovators (TR35) in the world.

In the last decade, this is the first time a Pakistani has been selected for the prestigious TR35 award, says a press release issued on Tuesday. "The TR35 recognizes the world's top 35 young innovators that are radically transforming technology as we know it. Their work - spanning medicine, computing, communications, energy, electronics and nanotechnology - is changing our world," according to MIT Technology Review.

Dr Umar Saif has been honoured for his work on technologies for the developing-world. Technologies developed by Dr Saif's research group and start ups are used by millions of people in the developing-world, especially BitMate, that enhances the speed of Internet in the developing-world using peer-to-peer technology, and SMSall.pk, Pakistan's largest SMS Social Network which has sent close to 4 billion SMS for users in Pakistan.

Dr Saif has won numerous awards for his innovative technology solutions for the developing-world. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010. He is a recipient of the MIT Technovator Award, Mark Weiser Award, Digital Inclusion Award from Microsoft Research and the IDG Technology Pioneer Award. Before moving to Pakistan, Saif worked at MIT and received a PhD from the University of Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust.

"We are immensely proud of this recognition for Dr Saif and of how it reflects the cutting edge work being done at our young School of Science and Engineering," said Adil Najam, Vice Chancellor of LUMS. "Dr Saif's work demonstrates not only the potential for innovation in technology for development but also the level of enterprise and expertise that already exists within Pakistan and the larger developing world."

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Madrassa Millia Islamia High School: past and present
Rawalpindi: Madrassa Millia Islamia High School (MMIHS), built under the banner of Majlis-e-Taleem-o-Tehzeebe Islami (MTTI), a conglomeration of workers of Pakistan Movement, is located in posh Satellite Town.

A group of people, who migrated to Pakistan after the Partition, decided to do some noble job for future generation: they hit upon an idea to establish a quality private school, which would impart both Islamic and formal education to students.

The initiative was in line with the Education Conference, organised on the orders of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, three months after the birth of Pakistan. It was presided over by then education minister Fazlur Rehman.

MTTI was set up to make efforts for the realisation of the idea: Late Abdul Jabbar Ghazi, who had studied at Aligarh, was in the forefront in this connection, was the first headmaster of the school, established in a private building near Kali Tanki (close to Haideri Chowk) way back in 1957.

The school was elevated to primary level within two years, made elementary school in 1962 and high school in 1965. It was shifted to the present 18-room building in 1967. Six rooms were constructed in 1987-88 after then MPA Chaudhry Nawazul Haq managed to get grant for the purpose. Spread on over 18 kanals, the school can be expanded to accommodate hundreds of more students if more rooms are built: presently its covered area is less than four kanals. The school was nationalised in 1972 under a government policy.

Ironically, despite its ideal location, not a single student from the adjacent localities is enrolled in the school because of it being a government school. A perception has developed or been developed that government educational institutions lack quality and commitment to impart education to students.

Due to this perception, overwhelming majority of students in this school hails from poor families such as vendors, hawkers, rickshaw drivers and labourers. But the school performs brilliantly and has been showing 100 per cent result in Matric exams. The school charges a paltry Rs20 per month tuition fee from students.

Despite having no student from its posh surrounding, the school attracts children from nearby localities, where people have meagre incomes. But the school continues to strive for providing best possible educational environment to its students irrespective of the fact, there is a network of schools of huge reputation, which charge monthly fee in thousands.

Only last year, Muhammad Sa adat Ali bagged 838 marks out of 1050 to win laurels for his school. Another student Firdous Raza, who sells burgers at Saidpur Road near National Bank, Pandora Branch, in the evening in winter and soda water in summer and hence shoulders financial burden of his poor father, topped in the school by securing 762 marks in 2009.

We hold events to mark the Independence Day on August 14 to try to revive the spirit our great leaders had, which drove them to creation of a separate motherland for the people living in this part of the world, said the school senior headmaster Dr. Muhammad Gulzaid Satti, while talking in his office, which is easily accessible.

He explains the MMIHS has great historic character, for it was conceived and built by those, who moved in from India, had the urge to do something for future generations in a country that lagged behind in every sphere of life at that time.

Satti, who has done PhD in human resource management and also a masters degree in Islamic Studies and MPhil in Education, claims his staff members still have a resolve to do whatever they can for their students.

For instance, he noted at times, teachers mutually contribute to buy uniforms for poor students and other articles: it was learnt that the headmaster got the entire building white-washed from his own pocket during summer vacation.

He was happy to say that unlike previous year, when only 418 students were enrolled in the school, this year, their number had swelled to over 600 and this was mainly because of their motivational activities that included displaying of school banners at various points.

Though staff members accord respect to all headmasters, they always have special regards for Abdul Jabbar Ghazi and his son Ahmad Furqan Ghazi, who served as its chiefs and demonstrated sheer commitment to their assignment and ensured best possible discipline.

Majority of teachers holds masters degree and some even have done related educational courses. It is because of teachers meritorious services, the school produced shining stars over the years: some of them are; Dr. Saeedur Rehman, who is head of Cardiology Department in a local hospital, Prof. Asif Hussain Shah is head of Math Department at Asghar Mall College, child specialist Dr. Javed Iqbal Sheikh, Dr. Khalid Masood Ansari, Dr. Mazhar Azeem, squadron leader Amjad Rathore, orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Sohail Iqbal and Muhammad Rashid, who is owner of a leading private school.

Because of its peculiar background, the institution attracted many top functionaries to be its guests from time to time: for instance, the creator of national anthem, late Hafeez Jalandhari gifted a unique anthem to the school; then speaker of the National Assembly Movli Tameezuddin Khan wrote on February 1963: I am very happy to be present at an impressive Seerat function of the Madrassa on December 9, 1962. It was a treat to see the students, both boys and girls, to perform the various interesting parts allotted to them in a most efficient and attractive manner. Their performance was an indication of high quality of the training they receive at the school.

This correspondent got this part of his remarks from an old file, the school s subject specialist Muhammad Ashfaq, who has been associated with the institution since 1980, fetched from a room. The file consists of speeches and comments of various important persons, who visited the school on different occasions.

Hazrat Maulana Shamsul Haq, Principal Jamia Qurania, Lal Bagh, Dhaka, also was once a chief guest at the school in 1960s, who had expressed concern over low literacy in Pakistan and underscored the need of according priority to education sector.

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SSC part 1 Distinction
Rawalpindi: Taimour Maqsood Butt, a student of the Saint Mary s Cambridge School, Murree Road, obtained 449 marks in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC Part-I) Annual Examination 2011 of the Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education, Rawalpindi, says a press release.

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Distinction
Rawalpindi: Students of the Grammar Public School, Saidpur Road, Satellite Town, showed excellent results in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Annual Examination 2011 of the Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education (BISE), Rawalpindi, says a press release. In Science Group among boys: Sheikh Hassan Tanveer got 992 marks, Muhammad Usman Aftab obtained 974 marks, Ahsan Tariq got 973 marks and Haris Shoaib got 947 marks. The news

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Mardan varsity building: Early finalisation of master plan directed
Mardan: Vice-Chancellor of the of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Prof Dr Ihsan Ali on Monday directed early finalisation of the master plan of the new building of the varsity accommodating suggestions and recommendations. He issued the directives at a meeting held here in connection with the preparation of the master plan.

The consultant of the master plan presented the sketch of the new building of the university.

The meeting was apprised that 2,067 kanals of land had been specified for the new building, and the task would be accomplished in four years. Total estimated cost of the building would be Rs11 billion. Heads of different departments were asked for suggestions in this regard.

Mr Ihsan Ali suggested that the building should be built keeping in view the next one hundred years.

He directed the heads of botany, zoology, chemistry, physics and several other departments to put forward their suggestions in written form well in time so that the same could be made part of the master plan to make it more effective.

The vice-chancellor said the university had directed the concerned authorities that all the blocks of the new building and roads should be named after renowned Pakhtun personalities of the past and the present with a view to keeping the Pashtun culture alive.

Prof Ali regretted that the HEC had not provided a penny so far to the university and all the funds were exclusively provided by the provincial government.

He hoped in the next four years the number of students would exceed 16,000 mark, adding, the new building will have modern facilities.

Naeem Ahmad, who is the designer from the AMC Consultant, said the new building would also have swimming pools, indoor games facility and state-of-the-art classrooms. Dawn

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