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HEC affiliates still don't have anti-plagiarism software
Lahore, Feb 11, 2008: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has yet to
provide to universities computer software that will point out to plagiarism. The
HEC had announced about a year ago that it would give the software to all
universities affiliated to it.
The HEC has provided the software only to
the Punjab University, while 25 other universities in the city do not have it.
Among the 122 universities affiliated to the HEC across Pakistan, only nine
universities have been provided the software.
The HEC started a movement
against plagiarism in its affiliates two years ago after cases of teachers
plagiarising papers were reported across the country. The HEC had ordered the
vice chancellors of universities to strictly review the theses and research work
of teachers involved in plagiarism.
HEC officials said 29 cases had been
reported and the accused had been punished in 13 cases, while 14 cases were
still being investigated.
Plagiarism hit PU when PU Centre for Higher
Energy Physics (CHEP) director Dr Fazl-e-Aleem, Rashid Ahmad, Sohail Afzal
Tahir, M Aslam Saeed and Maqsood Ahmad were accused of not mentioning the
sources in their papers in April 2006.
Plagiarism was also reported in
Government College University (GCU) when GCU Economics Department head Dr Qais
Aslam was accused of plagiarism and later removed from the school by the
authorities.
In light of the cases, the HEC had announced it would
provide computer software to all public and private universities affiliated to
it. However, it did not.
Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) VC
Prof Dr Bushra Mateen said the university was concerned about plagiarism and
that it had suggested the HEC provide anti-plagiarism software to universities.
She said the HEC did not provide it to LCWU and that the administration was
still waiting.
Dr Muzaffar Abbas, Education University (Lower Mall
Campus) director, said the school administration was following the HEC's
policies in connection with plagiarism. "However, we still don't have the
software."
A GCU official said the school was the first institution to
take action against cheaters. "We terminated the services of Dr Qais, who was
involved in plagiarism. We are concerned about the issue and discussed it during
our academic council. The HEC still hasn't provided us with the software," he
added. However, HEC official Hakim Ali Talpur said GCU was amongst the nine
schools the HEC had provided the software to.
University of Engineering
and Technology (UET) spokesman Syed Shabiul Hassan Zaidi said the school had not
received the software from the HEC.
HEC Executive Director Dr Sohail H
Naqvi said the commission was working to provide the software to all its
affiliates. He said it was negotiating with a company to install the software in
public universities.
HEC Advisor (Quality Insurance) Dr Riaz Qureshi said
the commission had framed a policy to provide the software to all its
affiliates. He said the software was expensive and that private schools would
pay half the price while we will foot the other half.
He said the HEC
would foot the complete bill in public schools. He also said the commission was
taking steps to eradicate plagiarism and was investigating plagiarism cases in a
few universities.
Mr Talpur said the HEC had provided software to Punjab
University, GCU, UET in Naran, Peshawar University, Karachi University, Jamshoro
University in Sindh, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai University in Karachi and UET in
Peshawar. Daily Times
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