Shortlisting for PU VC slot

Shortlisting for PU VC slot still on
Lahore, Dec 30: The Punjab higher education department is shortlisting candidates for issuing call letters for interviews for the selection of vice-chancellor of Punjab University (PU).

The tenure of incumbent vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran, who himself is a candidate for another term, is expiring on Jan 2.

In the wake of urgency to post regular vice-chancellor of country's top seat of learning, the higher education department is actively working on shortlisting candidates according to eligibility criteria on the basis of academic qualification and performance as well as administrative experience.

Punjab higher education department secretary Dr Ijaz Munir said that the department was trying to ensure that the Search Committee must interview all shortlisted candidates before Jan 2. "As soon as a shortlist will be ready, the candidates will be called for interview on two days notice," another senior official said.

Meanwhile, a campaign against certain candidates from within the Punjab University is on and this time Prof Dr Zafar Iqbal Jadoon and Prof Dr Haris Rashid are the target. Officials in the education department said both professors had second divisions in their academic careers while Prof Jadoon also had a third division in his career. They said that Prof Rashid was appointed professor against a post of professor in experimental and theoretical solid state physics while he had specialisation in theoretical high energy physics.

When contacted, both the professors said that a malicious campaign had been launched against them for being potential candidates. They said that they had earned the stature of professors and were also appointed deans of their respective faculties by the Punjab governor.

Prof Rashid said that his credentials could be gauged from the fact that the Nobel Prize committee had asked him last year to apply for the Nobel Prize. He said that he had also produced two PhDs and 22 MPhils.

Prof Jadoon said that candidates always attach their academic certificates with their applications and he was among the top candidates, who were selected for appointment as vice-chancellor of the Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan. Dawn

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PU VC interviews on Jan 2
Lahore: The interview for the post of Punjab University (PU) vice-chancellor is expected to be held on January 2 or 3, 2012, it is learnt. The tenure of Dr Mujahid Kamran as the PU VC will expire on January 2, 2012.

Sources privy to the developments said that no decision had been taken so far to let the incumbent VC continue till the posting of the new VC, though the option was under consideration. However, they added, any interim arrangement would be for no more than two weeks. It is also learnt that two members of the VC Search Committee – including renowned businessman Syed Babar Ali and politician and academician Sartaj Aziz – who had earlier excused themselves from being part of the VC selection process had now rejoined the committee on pressing demand of the Punjab government. The news

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PU results
Lahore: The Punjab University on Wednesday notified the results of MA Urdu Part-I as well as MSc Physics and MA Persian Part-II annual examinations for 2011, MA Special Education (regular programme), session 2009-11, and MA Special Education (evening programme), session 2009-11. Dawn

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PU PhD
Lahore: The Punjab University has awarded a PhD to Attiqur Rehman s/o Muhammad Hanif in the subject of Islamic Studies after approval of his research thesis, "Rights of Prisoners of War: Geneva Convention and Islamic Teachings."

According to a press statement on Wednesday, Attiq completed his thesis under the supervision of Dr Ghulam Ali Khan, Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, University of the Punjab.

PU results: Punjab University Examinations Department declared the results of various masters programmes on Wednesday. According to a press statement, the results of MA Urdu, Part-I, MSc Physics, MA Persian, Part-II, Annual Examination 2011, MA Special Education (Regular Programme), Session 2009-11, and MA Special Education (Evening Program), Session 2009-11, have been declared.

ceremony: Punjab University Department of Sports for Women will organise a ceremony for awarding scholarship to outstanding sports women besides inaugural of vehicles on Thursday (today). According to a statement, the ceremony would be held at PU Women Sports Complex, Crust Road, Old Campus. PU VC Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran will be the chief guest on the occasion. Director Sports Prof Dr Zafar Rashid and Additional Director Sports (women) will also be present.

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BISE Lahore Matric forms submission
Lahore: The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore has extended last date of submission of admission forms by the private candidates with single fee to January 3, 2012 for the Secondary School (Matriculation) Annual Examination 2012. Earlier, the last date for submission of forms was December 28, 2011.

The BISE spokesman said that keeping in view the last date for submission of forms Dr Allah Baksh, Chairman BISE Lahore, has directed to establish nine counters at the Board's office to facilitate students.

He stated that more than 100,000 forms had been submitted from the private sector so far while 40,000 forms were collected from applicants only on Wednesday, which was a record in the history of the Board.

Meanwhile, it may be mentioned that the Board authorities were receiving Rs 100 as processing fee and Rs 450 for issuance of result cards, which was an additional burden on students and their parents, which belied Punjab government's claim of providing education to the masses within affordable limit. They demanded the government waive off additional charges on various pretexts.

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32,000 science teachers to be recruited
Lahore: The Punjab government will recruit 32,000 science teachers in which women candidates will be given preference.

Addressing a one-day provincial consultation meeting on 'Girls primary education in Punjab, issues & challenges,' Chairman Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) Raja Anwar, as per a handout, said the recruitments would be purely on merit. He said this was being done so that public sector schools could work according to required standards. The moot was held at a local hotel on Wednesday. The PEF Chairman said that realizing the importance of private sector in the promotion of education at every tier of educational system, the Punjab government was wholly encouraging the nongovernmental organizations to proactively work for the eradication of illiteracy in the province so that Punjab could lead other provinces in education.

The function was arranged by Strengthening Participatory Organization. Members of civil society, NGOs, line departments as well as representatives of education department also attended the meeting and presented their viewpoint about girls' primary education in their respective areas. Raja Anwar said the Punjab government was giving top priority to girls' education, adding Rs 6 billion were being spent on different schemes aimed at providing basic facilities in 3,613 schools in public sector in the province. Highlighting the different initiatives for the promotion of girls' education, he said that Rs 2 billion have also been given as stipends to girls in 15 education-wise deprived districts so that the ratio of girls could be increased.

He further said that another Rs 2,814 million has been earmarked for necessary repair and maintenance of primary and middle schools. Not contending with the efforts of the public sector, the Punjab government was also providing free education to 1.1 million deserving students through public private partnership model of the Punjab Education Foundation and this number will rise to 1.5 million in next year, he added. The news

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HEC head lauds laptops initiative
Lahore: Higher Education Commission chairman Dr Javaid R. Laghari has commended Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for taking a bold initiative of providing free laptops to students of Punjab on merit.

In a letter addressed to the chief minister, Dr Laghari stated that the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2010-11 had identified 'Technology Readiness' as one of the key pillars of knowledge economy. Similarly, he said, the World Bank identified information and communications technology (ICT) as one of its four key pillars of knowledge economy.

Dr Laghari said the move to provide laptops to all registered students of PhD, MS and MPhil amongst others, would certainly lead to a drive among youth in Punjab to excel in education and research and lay a strong foundation of innovation and entrepreneurship in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Punjab government has asked all universities in the province to send the consolidated lists of their students including those studying in evening classes and have earned 70 per cent marks in last examination for consideration to issue laptops.

The Punjab University evening students had last week staged a protest demonstration and demanded that they should be included in the lists of laptop beneficiaries.

Moreover, it is learnt that the students studying in federal universities, located in Punjab, have also demanded that the chief minister allow the respective federal universities to send lists of their students qualifying the criteria for the grant of free laptops. Dawn

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LCWU scholar awarded US patent
Lahore: A patent submitted by Dr. Naila Yaqoob, a PhD student of Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), has been issued by the United States Patent Office.

According to details provided by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Naila has been awarded US Patent entitled 'Environmentally benign TCF bleaching sequences for AS/AQ wheat straw pulp', which was the outcome of a part of the research work towards her PhD thesis. Naila said her invention relates to the design of alternative eco-friendly bleaching sequences for Pakistan's indigenous species in response to the background that our "develop now and clean up later" policy will steadily leave nothing for future generations except a poor ecosystem. Daily times

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