HEC attestation new system | student unions restoration

HEC launches reservation system for attestation
Islamabad, Feb 20: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has decided to facilitate the general public, universities, institutions of higher learning and Embassies in Pakistan through online reservation system for the attestation of degrees of Pakistani students.

The decision has been made keeping in view the hyper increase in degree attestation demand. The HEC has introduced a most modern online system for degree attestation keeping in view the demands of the masses for the purpose. Now whoever comes to get his degrees attested from HEC will be facilitated with a most sophisticated IT system. For the purpose, the HEC has created a full automated visit address to facilitate the end-users with marking and confirming their reservations, as well as an online reservation desk has also been provided for the end-users to take benefits of the system by logging www.das.hec.gov.pk.

Now the users can register themselves and create their profile that can not only be used for degree attestation and endorsement but also to apply for HEC scholarships or jobs. The system facilitates the users to maintain and update his profile. The new system is aimed at providing smooth, hassle-free and transparent degree attestation procedure to the applicants.

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IIU yet to give 20% salary raise to 800 officers
Islamabad: The 20 per cent increase in salaries, as announced by the government, has not yet been implemented by the International Islamic University since June last year affecting more than 800 officers.

The university administration says that the government has not released the increased grant, therefore, the increase in salaries could not be released to officers. However, over 1,700 other university employees from BPS-1 to BPS-16 are being paid the 20 per cent raise.

There are some 349 teachers and over 500 other officers working in the university in scales BPS-17 and above, and not a single officer has been paid the 20 per cent increase that was announced in the budget last year.

IIU Academic Staff Association President Dr. Bashir said that hundreds of officers of the university have not been paid and when they contact the university administration they are told that mega projects are being carried on in the university and it is short of budget to give the 20 per cent increase in salaries to officers.

He said that the employees of BPS-1 to BPS-16 have been given the increase while teachers and other officers are not being entertained, due to which they are facing problems, as everyone in the country is equally suffering from the price hike and inflation.

One of the teachers said that on one hand, the university is inducting lecturers and professors on contract basis while on the other it is not releasing the 20 per cent increase in salaries of the serving teaching staff and other officers. He said that 64 out of 65 public sector universities have already granted the raise but the IIU has not offered any increase to its officers, he said.

IIU spokesman Muzamil Hussain, when contacted, confirmed that the university has not given the 20 per cent increase to teachers and other officers because it has not received the additional grant from the government. To a query, he said, the IIU is not getting enough grant to pay the increased salaries to officers and teachers. He added that it is mentioned in the salary slips being issued to officers that they would be paid the increased 20 per cent as soon as the university would get the additional grant. The News

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Body to review pros and cons of legalising student unions
Islamabad: The 15th Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Meeting formed a committee on Thursday to examine the pros and cons of the restoration of students unions in educational institutions and give a report to the federal government within two weeks.

The federal education secretary will head the committee, which will consist of the provincial education secretaries. The meeting was called to finalise the proposals and suggestions from the provincial governments on the new education policy, to be announced by the federal government on March 23. The participants decided that English Language would be made compulsory from class one and a number of 'master trainers' would be recruited for the purpose.

It was also decided that the provinces would be allowed to teach one regional or provincial language relevant to local needs. The ministers decided to introduce a new administrative cadre for educational institutions and improved and strengthen the teaching cadre.

The meeting was told that the provinces have already done the spadework and the teaching cadre and administrative cadre will formally be separated when the next education policy is announced. It was also informed that the new education policy would include a proper career growth scheme for teachers and their perks such as housing and transport. A National Authority for School Standards would also be announced in the new education policy, the participants were told.

They were also told that private sector schools enrol 39 percent of primary students and the ministers decided to strengthen public-private partnership in the field of education.

The provinces expressed serious concern over the non-availability of funds for education sector and demanded of the federal government to take immediate measures in this regard, saying the provincial education departments and universities were facing a severe financial crunch. The Sindh government demanded making a 'Teachers' Housing Society', a quota for sons and daughters of teachers in various services, and an upgrade of the pay scales of teachers.

The federal education minister said that the new education policy would lay special emphasis on teachers' education and will introduce a separate cadre for teachers' training.

Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq said the new policy should allow provinces to recruit teachers. He complained that the district governments were not cooperating with the provincial government.

He said that the Sindh government wanted to the raise the standard of teachers' qualification, and added that Computer Diplomas would be made a part of pre-requisites for teachers' enrolment.

Balochistan Education Minister Shafique Muhammad suggested that the new education policy should eliminate the third division from the assessment system and third division students should be considered failed. Punjab Education Secretary Zulqarnain Aamir proposed a 'teaching allowance' of at least 2,000 per month and said a proper service structure for teachers should be announced. Daily Times

84 READ Foundation students get gold medals
Islamabad: Top eighty-four students of Read Foundation schools in Pakistan and AJK were awarded gold medals on Thursday for their academic achievements in secondary and higher secondary school certificate examinations.

AJK President Raja Zulqarnain Khan was the chief guest on the occasion who also gave away certificates and shields among the students.

Speaking on the occasion the AJK president said the government has been utilizing all available resources to improve the standard in all the educational institutions. "The private sector has been rendering great services in the field of education and now the literacy rate in AJK is increasing at much faster pace," he said.

Raja Zulqarnain Khan emphasized the need to adopt a balanced approach in the private sector as some of the educational institutions are becoming commercial entities and common students cannot afford their expenditures.

Read Foundation also caters for the educational needs of over 6,700 orphan students enrolled into its school system as it imparts them a quality education and provides them with pertinent educational needs through one-on-one and organizational sponsorships.

He congratulated the recipients of awards, their parents as well as teachers and said it is a matter of pleasure that fifty percent of the recipients hail from resource-poor rural areas of AJK.

"Use your education to appreciate new perspectives and pursue knowledge to satisfy your curiosity in order to leverage on each others' strengths while confronting growing challenges in every field of life," he said.

He said it gave him immense pleasure to see that Read Foundation being one of the largest non-profit educational institution is translating its slogan into action by providing level playing field to all the students.

He said, "I am thrilled to see these young folks passing out after completing their years of education with distinction. This event, geared towards showing tangible appreciation to young boys and girls, is critical to the desired development process."

Mehmood Ahmad, Chief Executive of Read Foundation, said the foundation, established in 1994, started its operations with 25 students and one teacher and now it runs a cohesive network of 330 schools in Pakistan and AJK having 65,000 students nurtured and aided by 3,250 teachers.

He said some 2,500 individual donors have been extending financial support to the foundation along with 400 volunteers who work without any remuneration.

Mehmood Ahmad said 138 schools of Read Foundation were partially or totally damaged during the devastating 2005 earthquake, but students and teachers showing great zeal reconstructed these schools and now they are fully operational.

Earlier, Fayyaz Khan of Read Foundation in his welcome address said the objective of academic excellence award is to give due recognition to the outstanding high school graduates and to inspire them towards greater achievements in life.

He said working in partnership with parents, communities and local and international philanthropists; the foundation provides access to high-quality, cost-effective and sustainable quality educational programmes with significant gender parity.

A group of school children also presented a tableau show, which focused on the growth and training of children amid at various social challenges.

Besides students and their parent top academicians, representatives of NGOs, INGOs and social figures also participated in the ceremony.

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Froebel's case transferred to new judge
Islamabad: The sessions judge, Islamabad, has transferred the high-profile case of Froebel's International School students from one judge to the other, after its owner Saad Ali Khan, the former son-in-law of Dr. A Q Khan, raised objections against the judge, Fahim Shah, who wanted to decide the case early.

The new civil judge, Kamran Basharat Mufti, would now decide the fate of the suspended students today (Friday).

Meanwhile, in a related development, 140 students of the Froebel's International School have signed a joint petition in favour of their sacked fellow students and have requested the judge to reinstate them, as they were innocent.

These sacked students' lawyer Tariq Jehangiri confirmed that he had submitted four FIRs against Saad Ali Khan in the court. These FIRs pertain to previous cases, some of which had already been settled.

Barrister Shoaib Razzak representing Froebel's International School expressed his ignorance about these FIRs against his client Saad Ali Khan. He said, his client Saad was innocent and these students had violated the discipline of the school and were duly expelled.

Seminar at FJWU
Rawalpindi: A person who commits plagiarism, in fact, becomes deprived of the adventurous excitement offered by the boundless universe of ideas and imagination.

This was stated by Professor Dr. Naheed Zia Khan, dean of the Faculty of Law, Commerce & Management Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), as chief guest at a seminar on 'Plagiarism: Meet the Cheat' here on Thursday.

Organised by FJWU's Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) especially for the research students of Masters and Bachelors programmes, the seminar aimed at familiarising the students about the basic code of conduct regarding research projects.

During her lecture, Professor Dr. Naheed Zia Khan, who is also director of the QEC, briefed students on the phenomenon of plagiarism and intellectual property rights in the field of research, saying that if a person uses another's work without due acknowledgement, he or she commits a crime.

Quoting various examples from history in this regard, she said the altered or unaltered use of an already existing work into another creation without duly acknowledging the original source is dishonesty. The chief guest briefed the students on different methodologies and strategies that could be adopted to avoid plagiarism. The News

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