Karachi University new GPA system | SBTE exams results

New marks system irks Karachi University students
Karachi, Feb 28: Students of several departments of the Karachi University on Wednesday staged a demonstration on the campus to protest against the introduction of the grade point average (GPA) system in place of the existing division system in the middle of their courses.

A large number of students assembled in front of the university's arts lobby and raised slogans against the GPA system and officials of their departments for introducing the system.

The students said that they had already completed their third and fourth semesters under the present division system, but the administration was introducing a new system in the middle of their courses.

Later, the protesting students went to the university's administration block to meet the vice-chancellor of the university.

The vice-chancellor was reportedly not available, and therefore the students met the university's students' adviser, Prof Tanveer Khalid. They brought the issue to her notice.

The adviser listened to the protesting students and assured them that she would arrange a meeting of the affected students with the chairmen of their respective departments in a couple of days.

According to the protesting students, the administration's decision to introduce the GPA system in the middle of their courses has not only badly affected the results of more than half of the students of departments where the system has been implemented, but in some cases a number of students would also have to revert to their previous semester classes.

Reiterating that their protest against the newly introduced GPA system would continue as long as the university administration did not withdraw it, the students said that had the university administration been sincere about introducing the new system, it would have announced the new system in the beginning of their courses, instead of imposing it on them when they already had passed four semesters.

They claimed that according to a notification issued by the university administration sometime back, the GPA system was supposed to be applied to the students of batch-2008, but some teachers had applied the new system to the students of batch of 2007.

However, when the university's dean of faculty of management and administrative sciences, Prof Abuzar Wajidi, was contacted for his comments on the issue, he said that the situation might have had arisen due to some confusion among teachers regarding the GPA system.

He was optimistic that the issue would be resolved amicably in a couple of days.

Protest against GPA system continues
Karachi: Students of some departments on Friday continued their protest on the second consecutive day to voice their anger over the introduction of the GPA (grade point average) system by the University of Karachi.

Students of the public administration department also boycotted their classes and vowed to continue the protest till the withdrawal of the GPA system.

Neither the KU administration nor the teachers' association has taken any initiative to help resolve the issue though the students' protest has been affecting academic activities at several departments for the last two days.

KU Registrar Prof Raees Alvi, when contacted, stated that since the matter was purely an academic one, it would be referred to the KU deans committee.

The protesting students are opposing introduction of the GPA system in the middle of their course.

"Isn't it amazing that the marks we have obtained in the last four semesters will be calculated under the division system and those of the upcoming semesters under the GPA system?" asked a student of the public administration department.

Several senior teachers of the university believe that the protesting students' grievance was genuine. Requesting not to be quoted, they said there was no logic in applying the GPA system to the students who were in the middle of their courses as they had already been declared pass in their previous semesters under the division system.

"The GPA system should be applied to the first semester of any course and students should know about the system of examination before they are admitted to the course of their choice," they argued. Dawn

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SBTE exams results announced
Karachi: The Sindh Board of Technical Education (SBTE) on Thursday announced the results of diploma in business administration (DBA) part-I and part-II supplementary examinations 2008.

According to the results, 32 candidates appeared in the part-I exams from all over Sindh. 24 students passed. The pass percentage is 75 per cent.

In part-II exams, 127 candidates appeared from all over Sindh while 67 passed the exams. The pass percentage is 52.76 per cent.

The SBTE also announced the results of diploma in information technology (DIT) 1st and 2nd semester (March-August) examinations 2008.

According to the statistics of the results of 1st semester, 1,922 candidates appeared in the exams from all over Sindh. 1,502 students passed.

The overall pass percentage is 78.14 per cent.

According to the statistics of 2nd semester, 1,497 candidates appeared from all over Sindh. 1,214 students passed. The over all pass percentage is 81.09 per cent.

The SBTE also announced the results of diploma in computer business management (DCBM) 1st and 2nd semester 2008.

According to the results of 1st semester, 315 candidates appeared in the exams from all over Sindh. 203 students passed. The pass percentage is 64.44 per cent.

According to the statistics of the results of 2nd semester, 195 students appeared from all over Sindh in the exams. 157 students passed. The pass percentage is 80.51 per cent. App

Education dept told not to fill 639 posts
Karachi: The Sindh High Court on Thursday restrained the provincial education department from fresh recruitment against 639 posts of lecturers and directed the department to submit details of the appointment of 91 lecturers who have been given posting orders.

An SHC division bench passed this order while hearing the petitions of 639 lecturers, who were selected by the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) for government colleges, but were not given posting orders.

The petitioners submitted through their counsel, Shua-un-Nabi and Zamir Ghumro, that the recruitment process was started in June 2005 with the publication of a SPSC advertisement inviting applications from eligible candidates for the post of lecturers. They submitted that the SPSC had declared 741 applicants as successful candidates in June 2005, of them 91 candidates had been given posting orders in compliance with an SHC order in Sept 2007. The rest of the successful candidates were given offer letters in May 2008 and they signified their acceptance of the offer immediately but were still awaiting posting, though the posts they had been selected for were lying vacant to the detriment of students.

They said the government was bound to accept the SPSC's recommendations in the absence of any justifiable reason and its own offer letters. Once having accepted the SPSC recommendations, it had no authority whatsoever to go back on its solemn commitment, they added.

The additional advocate-general along with the provincial secretary education appeared before the division bench comprising Justice Athar Saeed and Justice Syed Mahmood Alam Rizvi on Thursday and argued that the relevant matter was pending before the Supreme Court and it was to be determined whether the chief minister could withdraw the offer letters or whether a caretaker government could issue the posting orders.

However, the petitioners' counsel took the plea that the matter pending in the Supreme Court had no relevance with the present case.

They said that 91 of the SPSC-selected lecturers, who approached the court earlier, had already been posted in compliance with the court order while 11 had been given posting by the education department on its own.

The petitioners, who had been issued offer letters, were thus being discriminated against in violation of their vested right, they said, claiming that fresh hiring was being made on the still vacant posts.

The bench after hearing both sides adjourned the matter till March 12. Dawn

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Karachi not prone to major earthquakes, SSUET study claims
Karachi: Contrary to the general notion that Karachi is located on the major earthquake fault lines, researchers at the Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology (SSUET), have discovered that Karachi is in fact situated along the Minor Earthquake Zone and is not prone to any major or devastating earthquakes.

The Institute of Human Settlement and Environment (IHSE) at the SSUET Department of Civil Engineering has also established that Murray Ridge Area, located about 200 kilometres southwest of Karachi, in the North Arabian Sea is vulnerable to the generation of Tsunami if a major earthquake strikes the region.

Civil Engineering Department Chairman, Dr S.M. Makhdumi, informed that IHSE has prepared four reports on disaster management , that include Disaster Preparedness & Development of Warning System for Coastal Region of Pakistan, Global Warming, Planning & Mitigation and Seismic Zones of Pakistan.

Dr Makhdumi said that IHSE that was established in 2001 has been working on the projects that are vital to the general public. "It has undertaken exhaustive scientific studies of natural disasters affecting Sindh and Coastal North Arabian Sea. The study established the vulnerability of coastal waters, south of Karachi, to the occurrence of Tsunami and recommends development of 'Warning System' for effective remedial and relief measures necessary to minimise the loss of human lives in case a Tsunami hits the coastal regions of Sindh."

The IHSE has also updated the existing seismic zone map of Pakistan (1980) on the pattern of Sindh-Balochistan map already published by the university. The revised Seismic Zone Map of Pakistan, according to Dr Makhdumi, will assist the engineering institutions in Pakistan in revising and updating the building code of the country.

Former Pakistan Meteorological Services Director General, Syed Amir Ahmed Kazmi, who is currently an environment consultant at SSUET, said that the major seismic fault in Sindh, Sarjan-Jampir Fault, which devastated upper Sindh and buried Moenjodaro some 5000 years ago and remained active for centuries, is (according to the new definition of Active Fault 1986) in the process of stabilisation. "No major earthquake has struck Sindh during the last several centuries", Kazmi asserted.

According to Kazmi, the Rann of Kutch area is seismically active and has generated Tsunamis in the past. However, due to the drying up of the sea water in the area around the island, the Rann of Kutch is now a solid mass of land and unlikely to generate Tsunamis in future. "Tsunamis will continue to be generated along the Makran coastal waters in future and cause major damage to Pasni, Gwadar, Jiwani and other towns in the coastal areas of Balochistan. However Tsunamis occurring along Makran Coast are not expected to cause damage to the Karachi coastal region", Kazmi explained.

Shahid Saleem, Assistant Professor at the SSUET Department of Civil Engineering, and a member of IHSE team talked about the lethal effect that Tsunami could have. "Tsunamis can move at the speed of a hundred miles per hour, and its waves can be as high as 100 feet or more. The time lag between the occurrence of Tsunami and its waves hitting the coast is the controlling factor. This is the time that could wisely be used to minimise the brutal force of Tsunami if a warning system exists in the area", Saleem emphasised

Pacific Tsunami Warning System, according to Kazmi, has two Warning Systems in Hawaii and Alaska. The United Nations, in collaboration with World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR), had decided to set up a Tsunami Warning System in the Indian Ocean after the devastating Tsunami that hit several countries of the region. The system was installed in 2006 and

now 25 countries have joined in. The countries include Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Kenya, Tanzania and France (for Réunion), Australia and India. The News

SU students force boycott of classes: Clash with security guards
Hyderabad: A group of students armed with clubs forced boycott of classes on Friday and held a demonstration in protest against what they termed as harassment by security guards posted at the Sindh University vice-chancellor's house who suffered injuries in a clash with students late on Thursday night.

According to reports, a group of students on motorcycles and security guards exchanged hot words, which led to a scuffle after the group came back with their colleagues.

The enraged students threw stones at the VC's house and resorted to aerial firing. Jamshoro police arrived at the scene but refused to intervene.

The students then went away and staged a sit-in at the hostel gates.

As soon as classes started on Friday, the group armed with clubs not only forced the students to boycott classes but also tortured some. Later, they held a sit-in at the Zero Point. The group's leaders Kamran Bhalai, Ameer Brohi, Farhan Memon and G.M. Jatoi claimed that students who were going to hostels last night were harassed by security guards. When two students went to the VC house to lodge complaint, the guards snatched their motorcycles and subjected them to torture, they said and added that when their colleagues knew about the incident they joined them and a scuffle took place. The university employees also boycotted their duties, wore black armbands and staged a sit-in outside the vice-chancellor's office, raising slogans against police and university administration.

The employees' leaders Ghulam Nabi Bhalai, Akhtiar Channa and Atta Pathan alleged that some students, who were dead drunk, attacked them at the vice-chancellor's house and snatched their weapons. They said that police reached there but took no action against the miscreants. They demanded that the vice-chancellor cancel the admissions of the rowdy students, otherwise, they would launch a movement from Monday.

The injured guards Anwar Nohani, Mohammad Ali Bhalai and Abdul Hussain Nohani were admitted to Liaquat University Hospital Jamshoro.

Police have registered a case against 50 students on a complaint lodged by Mohammad Ali, one of the security guards. Dawn

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IBA to get Rs 905m for uplift
Karachi: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad stressed on the need to expedite the procedure of granting a university status to the Institute of Business Administration (IBA). Ibad was speaking at a high level meeting, held to review the progress on giving IBA a university status, at the Governor's House on Friday. It was revealed in the meeting that IBA will get an amount of Rs 905 million as a grant from a private charity organisation, Aman Foundation, to upgrade its academic and administrative structure.

The grant will be used to construct administration and entrepreneur towers at IBA's city and university campuses respectively. In the administration tower, offices of the administration and faculty members will be set up besides well equipped classrooms, libraries and laboratories. While in the university campus, the construction of an entrepreneur tower has been planned in which the youth will be given practical training through short courses to make them excel in their respective fields in accordance with the needs of the industry. Daily Times

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