|
|
|
|
PU shopkeepers: Academic programmes
PU shopkeepers reluctant to sell multinational items
Lahore, Feb 22, 2008: The sale of soft drinks made by multinational companies
is still banned in the Punjab University (PU) hostels, though PU Vice Chancellor
Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran issued a notification for the removal of the ban last
week.
The shopkeepers following the ban said that the Islami
Jamiat Talaba (IJT) had imposed the ban and they could not start selling the
multinational drinks without the IJT's permission.
"I know the
shopkeepers in the hostel area are under pressure, but we are taking steps to
make sure they start selling the drinks freely again," said PU Hall Council
Chairman Dr Saeed Ahmed Nagra. He said the administration was taking care of all
problems one by one and the sale of multinational beverages in the hostel area
would start from the next month.
PU IJT Nazim Rana Zahid denied that the
IJT was responsible for the ban on soft drinks. He said the IJT had neither
imposed the ban nor was against the sale of the drinks. He said many
multinational companies had supported the IJT in its programmes and the
association had also served Pepsi cola in its past functions.
According
to students and shopkeepers at the PU, the IJT had imposed the ban on the sale
of all products made by multinational companies, which included razors,
beverages and cosmetics. They said the IJT had always been against the sale of
multinational products on the PU campus, but had imposed the ban as a token
protest during the blasphemous caricatures' controversy in February 2006. The
IJT also made a Price and Food Control Committee to keep a check on the prices
of things being sold in the shops on the PU campus.
Last week, the PU
administration issued a notification removing the IJT's ban on the sale of
multinational products. Following the notification, the shopkeepers and canteen
owners on the campus started selling multinational beverages, but those in the
hostel area refrained from selling them.
A shopkeeper near a PU hostel
said that he would not start selling the products banned by the IJT
until he had been given the party's permission. "I have my business to save," he
said. "Everyone knows the IJT is strong and the administration is in no position
to stop them."
Another shopkeeper in the hostel area said, "We cannot
open or close our shops whenever we want and we cannot sell things at our rates.
How can we take the risk of selling products the IJT doesn't want us
to?"
A PU official said the IJT had become influential among the PU
shopkeepers since many of them (the shopkeepers) were former IJT members or IJT
sympathisers. He alleged that the IJT had taken huge profits from the companies
whose products they allowed to be sold in the shops on campus. He said many of
the companies financed the IJT's functions and helped the party in its political
and advertisement campaigns. He also mentioned that the IJT threatened the
shopkeepers who had tried to sell the 'banned' soft drinks.
PU approves proposals for academic programmes
Lahore: The Punjab University (PU) Academic Council has
approved the recommendations of the boards of studies of its various
departments, institutes and colleges for its academic programmes, and of certain
other issues.
According to an official press statement on Thursday, the
Academic Council's meeting was held in the auditorium of the Environmental Law
Centre, under the chairmanship of Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran.
It said a committee had been formed to deal with such issues.
Faculty
deans, department heads, institute directors and college principals also
attended the meeting.
The council members said the PU had been facing a
large number of problems, considering the council did not convene its meeting to
look into those issues for the last three years. The VC assured the members that
the councils' meeting would be held on a regular basis. The house objected to
the recommendations for the deletion of description written in Urdu on the PU
degree – the description is written in both English and Urdu
formats.
Many members of the house were of the view that the old
bilingual format of the degree had some historical and traditional values and it
should not be changed; rather, it should be improved.
After the
discussion, the VC took a vote from the house. The house raised its hands in
consensus to continue with the old format of the degree, but with some
improvements. The VC, with the consensus of the house, constituted a committee,
headed by Prof Dr Najma Najam, to improve the old format of the degree in line
with international standards. The VC directed the committee to submit its
recommendations, in this regard, within two weeks.
Some members objected
to the recommendations for the change of the Botany Department's name to the
Department of Plant Biology. The VC referred the matter to the board of studies.
On the recommendations of Psychology Department Chairperson Dr Yasmeen Farooqi,
the council decided that the psychology students would be compelled to undergo
internships in their third semester, instead of the second.
The house
also constituted a committee to decide whether to establish a Department of
Chinese Language in the Oriental College. The council also discussed about
providing extra facilities to deaf students in the examination system. Daily Times
|
|
|
|
 |
| Post your Comments/ Views about the news. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Education News | | Updated: 24 May, 2012 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
