|
Higher Education Commission GAT-General test
HEC reviews GAT for Languages, Islamic Studies
| Islamabad, Dec 01: Consultative Committees met here Saturday at the Higher
Education Commission (HEC) Secretariat to review the GRE Type (GAT-General) test
for Pakistani Languages, Arabic and Islamic Studies. Prof Fateh Muhammad
Malik, Chairman Sub-Committee on Pakistani Languages, chaired the meeting, held
under the auspices of Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of
Pakistan, which was attended by faculty members of languages from all over the
country, says a press release. |
|
The main agenda of the meetings was to
analyse the suitability of the GAT-General test for these disciplines and
finalise the recommendations to improve the test as per requirement of the PhD
studies.
The meeting was briefed that candidates of these subjects get an
average of 65 per cent marks in the verbal sections of the test while a large
number of students fall below passing marks, which reflects a negative skewness
in the data.
The quantitative (arithmetic) section provides a supplement
support and candidates obtain marks with an average of 70 per cent marks while a
maximum number of candidates fail in the analytical section of the
test.
Dr Riaz-ul-Haq Tariq, Member (Academics) HEC, briefed the
participants about the analysis carried out for the verbal, analytical and
quantitative parts of the test and the problem faced by the candidates of these
subjects.
He emphasised over the members to play an active role in the
promotion of research and teaching in these disciplines and to launch a
four-month pre-doc programme for students aiming to study MS leading to PhD.
He also assured that HEC would welcome new ideas and suggestions in
strengthening Pakistani languages in educational institutes in
particular.
The Committee members lauded the efforts of the Commission
for initiating a number of programmes to strengthen the Pakistani languages in
the country's general universities and also assured their utmost cooperation in
this regard. The News
Post your comments
Experts stress need for central library
Karachi: Libraries and the number of readers they attract represent a
society's psychological and moral evolution and growth. However, the number of
libraries in Karachi is woefully short of what it should be, while various
stakeholders are of the opinion that there is a dire need to make the existing
libraries more user-friendly, along with increasing their numbers.
The
need to prioritize the building of a central library in the city was also
expressed by experts.
Uzma Abdul Rashid, a teacher at the University of
Karachi, is of the opinion that even though the university's Dr Mahmud Hussain
Library has thousands of books on various subjects, including a brilliant
collection of rare books, as things stand, it is quite a hassle to actually go
through the process of locating a book (sometimes never finding it) rendering
the library's collection almost inaccessible.
Naheed Jahan, the librarian
at Karachi's Liaquat Memorial Library, is also of the opinion that libraries
should fulfil their function and be as accessible to the general public as
possible.
"We have about 500 visitors daily – men and women – who only
need to deposit their identity cards in order to use the library." However,
Sindh's biggest library is only a reference library.
When asked what
educational and cultural initiatives the government has taken in this regard in
the recent past, Saifur Rahman Grami, a former City District Government Karachi
official, said: "The government has not promoted these programmes as much as we
need them in the city … however, while I was working for the CDGK, they did
manage to start an initiative called 'Markaz-i-Ilm-o-Saqafat' (Educational and
cultural centre). At this point, a library is being constructed there and they
have also started book selection for it.
"We also started some new
libraries in North Karachi, Lyari and some other parts of the city. But it is a
pity that although governments spend on constructing buildings all over the
place, they tend to neglect the real function that those buildings should be
serving," Mr Grami said.
"The libraries we currently have in the city are
not being used to their maximum advantage, sometimes because of a dearth of good
books, which we are in constant need of. It is a myth that people read less
books because of the increased use of the internet … once provided the books,
people will read them," he said.
This claim was supported when, during a
visit by this reporter, every seat in the various reading rooms at the Liaquat
Memorial Library was seen occupied, so much so that people were seated in the
walkways to be able to study.
This showed there is no dearth of
library-goers in the wake of the communications revolution. And it is precisely
for this reason that the Liaquat Memorial Library is converting its auditorium
(with a capacity of 350 plus seats) into a fully-fledged reading room, while a
separate auditorium is being constructed within the library's
premises.
Ms Jahan, however, bemoaned the fact that while Liaquat
Memorial Library was open to the general public and also very accessible, there
are libraries in the city which have become literally physically inaccessible
because of security issues.
Library off limits
Mr Grami said that
while the Frere Hall's Liaquat Hall Library has one of the richest collections
of books in Karachi (with countless rare books), it has become off limits to
citizens since 9/11.
"We managed to start a book fair at Frere Hall, but
that programme has also been halted. Apart from that, the Liaquat Hall Library
has become a haunted house."
Despite various initiatives at different
levels, some of which have failed in the long run, it is evident that Karachi
badly needs a central library which should be easily accessible to
citizens.
"A central city library is very important for many reasons.
Currently, we do not have one in Karachi. Whenever you go to a big city, its
central library, among other landmarks, represents its heritage. Lamentably, the
plans for a central city library near Nipa seem to have failed. The land
allotted for the library was used to construct a hospital building. As of now,
that building neither houses a hospital nor a library. That land was acquired
for the purpose of establishing a library, but the idea was never properly
worked upon.
"Karachi has 18 towns and there should be at least one town
library apart from the central city library. A lot of us might not realise, but
it is a serious need of the hour," Mr Grami said.
Moreover, Uzma Abdul
Rashid spoke of how she has been to certain libraries in the city and how
disappointing it was for her "to find only general and reference books rather
than subject-specific books, which many people need.
"Also, there are
libraries in the city which are accessible only to people of a certain area or
class, so their books are automatically inaccessible to others. At the same
time, with the dearth of useful bookshops and the cost of books increasing by
the day, we in Karachi are in genuine need of an accessible-to-all and
hassle-free central library," she affirmed.
By Qurat ul ain Siddiqui (Dawn)
Post your comments
|
