NWFP universities students fees refund

Students demanded fees waiver on the pattern of UoP
Peshawar, Dec 11: The students of different public sector universities hailing from the conflict areas particularly the tribal regions have urged the management of their respective universities to waive their fees on the pattern of the University of Peshawar (UoP), which refunded the whole fees to the students of Malakand division following the military operation.

The UoP had remitted fees to all the students of some districts of Malakand division. It had pledged to present a more detailed case before the federal government aimed at facilitating all the students of the tribal and other militancy-hit areas. However, no such step could be taken so far.

Students belonging to Chitral were not provided any relief despite the announcement of NWFP governor. NWFP Governor Owais Ghani during his visit to the district had declared that Chitrali students would also be facilitated like other districts of Malakand division. The promise made by the governor, who is also the chancellor of the public sector university, remains unfulfilled. The students of the university belonging to tribal areas are particularly concerned about the non-provision of any relief to them.

A non-governmental organisation of Dubai-based Pakistanis with help of the Peshawar University Teachers Association had provided funds to the students of all the restive areas including those of the tribal regions, which were, however, not enough to meet their educational expenses. The organisation had provided a relief of Rs3,000 per head to the students belonging to the conflict areas.

Other universities operating elsewhere in the province did not provide any relief to the students. The students raised their concern at various forums and staged demonstrations to press the universities management and the government to remit their educational expenses, but to no avail.

The students of the NWFP University of Engineering and Technology and NWFP Agricultural University were the most vocal in holding protests seeking remission of charges. The students of newly established Islamia College University are also worried about their educational expenses. In a meeting organised by Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, the affected students urged the university administration to waive their fees.

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PUTA elect office-bearers
Peshawar: The Awami National Party-supported Friends Group emerged victorious in the Peshawar University Teachers Association (PUTA) elections by winning all the offices of the association's cabinet except one.

Dr Jauher Ali was elected as the president of the association and Mohammad Tayyeb as general secretary. A total of 461 ballots were polled of which Dr Jauher bagged 234 against the 189 of his rival, Dr Ikhtiar of Tanzim-e-Asatiza. Mohammad Tayyeb secured 217 votes while his rival Falak Naz got 186 votes.

Other office-bearers of the association included Ataur Rahman of Tanzim-e-Asatiza, who secured 218 votes against the 188 of Jamil Ahmad of Friends. Dr Arshad lost the office of sports secretary to Siddique Akbar of the Friends by just one ballot as he got 203 votes against the 204 of his rival.

Roohullah of the Friends was elected to the office of literary secretary with 205 votes while his rival Zaigham Hasan got 202 votes. Mohammad Rauf and Nazrul Islam of the Tanzim and Fayaz Ali and Dr Niaz of Friends were elected as members of the executive council of the association. The news

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A school heading towards forced closure
Muzaffargarh: At a time when the government has warned all schools to increase security measures or face closure, there is a school in the heart of Muzaffargarh city whose walls have been broken exposing children to security threats.

It has been learnt that the municipality and the Education Department were all interested in the closure of the school only, what a schoolteacher claims, to grab its prime land.

This correspondent visited the Government Municipal Committee Primary School No 4 and saw about 40 children sitting in the open.

Headmaster Ameer Bukhsh, who is the only teacher at the school, alleged the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) and Revenue officials wanted to close this school which was built before the creation of Pakistan. He alleged that TMA and revenue teams had broken its boundary wall and threatened him with consequences if he did not stop teaching here.

He said he had written many letters to the executive district officer-education for the construction of the wall and appointments of teachers, but got no reply. He said when the government recruited thousands of educators recently, he had asked the Education Department to fill four seats of the school, but the TMA and Revenue officials pressured the department not to recruit any teacher.

He claimed that he had gone to local parliamentarians, but they all suggested him to abandon the school so that a market could be built here.

He said now when Pakistan was under the spate of suicide attacks and the government ordered him to make the school safe, he had built the school three times from the school management council funds and every time traders and TMA workers had broken it. He said thieves had stolen school's water taps and an electric motor last month. He went to the city police station, but the police did not register any case.

He said three teachers had got retirement from the school in the recent years and he would also retire after four months.

"After my retirement, the school will close and the land will be used for a market," he claimed.

The land of the school is two kanals, and originally it is of the Auqaf Department. No Education or TMA official was ready to contradict the comment of the headmaster. Dawn

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96 students sent to jail
Peshawar: A local court on Thursday sent 96 foreign students of a local seminary to jail for three days, charging them under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act after their failure to produce the required documents for staying in Pakistan.

The Peshawar Police arrested them during a raid on a seminary in Hazarkhwani, a village in the environs of the provincial metropolis, on Wednesday and produced them before the court of Judicial Magistrate Tariq Abbas, the following day. The court directed the authorities concerned to make arrangements for their deportation to their home country.

The spokesman for the city police said that they were arrested for staying illegally in Pakistan, adding that 53 of the arrested persons were seminary students while 130 were other refugees who were staying in the country without having legal documents.

The raid is believed to be the first of its kind as large contingents of the capital city police cordoned off Madrassa-i-Hafiziyah in Hazarkhwani area. The police had reportedly arrested 183 students, teachers and administrative staff of the seminary besides other unregistered refugees.

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ICU Chrysanthemum exhibition
Peshawar: The Annual Chrysanthemum Exhibition was inaugurated at the Islamia College University on Thursday where 60 kinds of the colourful flower were put on display. Vice-chancellor of the university Ajmal Khan inaugurated the exhibition in the presence senior teachers and gardeners.

The gardening staff of the Islamia College spent almost a year in bringing up the delicate flowers for annual winter exhibition at the campus.

Ajmal Khan lauded the efforts of gardening staff of the college and the institution is among a few most beautiful campuses of South Asia because of their hard work and attention.

The students, teachers and other people visited the exhibition and evinced their keen interest in the flowers. The exhibition will continue till December 16. The news

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Unique artwork display
Peshawar: One day exhibition of the 32 selected paintings of different private, public sector colleges and Madsarrahs from across the country was put on display showing the unique work of art on the title of " Peace and Tolerance" here Thursday at Home Eco nomics College University of Peshawar.

The initiative was taken by Regional Directorate of Higher Education Comm ission in collaboration with Center for Civic Education Pakistan, an NGO that conducted three days training for the selected students of different colleges from across the country.

Director HEC, Farmaullah Anjum was the chief guest on the occasion. Sharing his views about the event, he emphasized the need for promoting such positive ideas in the student community in order to engage them in healthy activities. He maintained that there was a lot of talent in the country that needs platform to bring out their inner abilities and holding of events like these help in polishing their hidden talents.

Farmanullah Anjum said that pen and violence was the best way to address issues and underscored the need for promoting peace and harmony in different spheres of life and to integrate different thoughts through declamation contests, paintings, seminars and workshops.

He said that the initiative was taken by HEC and Center for Civic Education Pakistan that organized three days training for the contesting students and after the completion of the training, the painting competition was held out of which 32 paintings were selected. Luckily, he continued that 10 out of the 32 selected pictures were from NWFP and the first and the third prize was won by Home Economics College Peshawar.

The competition provided a platform to young minds to express their idea about peace and tolerance that were the need of the day, he added.

He said that the interesting thing about the painting competition was that not only public and Private universities from Quetta, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Azad Jammu and Kashmir were included in it but students from the religious seminaries were also given chance to participate in it.

Farmaullah Anjum said that the idea was meant to integrate different academic sectors of the country including madrassahs and to provide them a platform to give shape to their imaginations while using the canvass as a medium of expression.

Some of the students also used calligraphy as the medium of expression to draw their images about the theme and gave put different messages such as "The one, who saves one human, saves the whole of humanity", "East and West should unite for global peace", " Peace has no boundaries" and "Peace comes from within, Do not seek it outside".

The exhibition was appreciate by the faculty of the college and the students who opined that it encouraged the students to give pictorial form to their random thoughts and pass on a message for peace, which was relevant to the present day scenario of the country. APP

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