NTS under fire at FUUAST | KU shuttle service

National Testing Service under fire
Karachi, Feb 23: Teachers and students of the Federal Urdu University for Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST) have strongly criticised the varsity's decision for hiring NTS (National Testing Service) to carry out admission tests of graduates aspiring for MS and PhD programmes, as NTS administration has started making blunders.

According to complaints of candidates and teachers, "Candidates are facing enormous problems in submitting their enrolment forms for an entry test for the said programme as NTS allowed only 9 days to applicants for this purpose, which is not sufficient. These 9 days include four half days and two holidays."

"NTS restricted the candidates to submit their forms in three banks including UBL, ABL and MCB. However, failure of online banking for the last four days, according to students, kept them away from submitting the forms."

It is pertinent to mention here that an advertisement for the admission was published on January 29 only in one Urdu newspapers; while the last date for submission of forms was February 7. Before the last date of submission NTS was charging Rs600 but after February 7 Rs1,000 is being charged which is unfair. However, Rs50 out of Rs1,000 is being charged by the FUUAST.

It is worth mentioning that the test will be held on February 22 (today) at Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology during morning hours, while it is expected that 350 to 400 students will be appeared in the test.

A senior teacher at the varsity said that the reliability of the NTS had already been exposed at the Karachi University (KU) as MS and PhD programme had yet to be started due to some serious errors in entrance test conducted by NTS.

He alleged that NTS administration was just minting money by charging late fee due to the short time period allocated by the NTS for submission of the enrolment forms for the entrance test while more than 100 students had paid additional charges.

"FUUAST has lost the opportunity to earn money from NTS after designating the Sir Syed University for test centre. A majority of the FUUAST teachers worried over the administration's decision to allow a private organisation to carry out admission tests for their graduates willing to get admission in MS and PhD programmes, as they see it as an attempt to discredit their institution," he added.

When Registrar FUUAST Prof Dr Qamar-ul-Haq was contacted, he said that the university was not responsible for the affairs related to the entrance test announced by the NTS.

"This is purely a matter of concern for the NTS administration as students have expressed their concern over the short period of time declared by the NTS for the submission forms."

It is pertinent to mention here that the representatives of Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) have already expressed their serious concern over the authenticity of the NTS, and said that the organisation had a dubious record and nobody is aware of its origin. "It is also not clear as to why and under what conditions the Higher Education Commission (HEC) allowed the NTS to conduct tests in public-sector universities," they added. The Nation

SPSC forms date
Karachi: The Sindh Public Service Commission on Saturday extended the date for submission of application forms for the post of Mukhtiarkar (B-16) in the Revenue Department from Feb 21 to March 3. App

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Karachi University shuttle service to resume from Monday
Karachi: The shuttle service at the University of Karachi (KU), which had been halted for the past four days after students thrashed a staff member for rash driving, will resume functioning from Monday. Officials of the KU Transport Department suspended the shuttle service after a group of students, angered by the reckless driving of drivers, beat a staff member and forced the drivers to stop the buses. This step, however, caused problems for thousands of students who were dependent on the shuttles for transportation. The KU administration had severely criticized the misbehavior of the students and in this regard a meeting of the Student Advisory Council was held to discuss the prevalent situation at the campus. Meanwhile, the KU administration ensured the workers of the transport department that no such incident will take place in the future. The university has also asked students to avoid violation of disciplinary regulations of the university. Daily Times

KU asks students to maintain discipline
Karachi: A meeting of the Student Advisory Council was held on Saturday to discuss the prevalent situation at the campus.

An announcement to this effect was made by the Students Adviser of Karachi University. It was resolved that University Administration is committed to provide peaceful environment for the promotion of academic activities in the premises of the University of Karachi. The announcement said that the University being a premier institution of higher education in Pakistan, it is essential that a continuous and uninterrupted atmosphere be maintained to provide education.

The teachers and non-teaching staff, including those working to help the set up function, are involved in the arduous task for maintaining peace at the campus. However, it has been noticed that some students have misbehaved with the staff of the transport department and manhandled drivers to stop point buses forcefully at their will.

Such behaviour is not only inappropriate but also unethical, especially when it is shown by students who are the future of our country since University expects disciplined behaviour according to university regulations, which includes respect for all particularly respect for teachers and non teaching staff.

It is therefore deemed necessary that all students of the university be duly informed that they should not depict any conduct or behaviour which is tantamount to violation of disciplinary regulations of the University. If there are complaints they should be routed through proper channel so that can be dealt accordingly.

This is in the larger interest of the student community as well as the University as a whole, the announcement added. The Nation

3 edu projects for girls inaugurated
Karachi: The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) is constructing technical institutions for girls so that the female population of the city can acquire education and generate income for their families in a respectable manner while serving the nation like women in developed nations around the world.

Kamal said this at the groundbreaking ceremony of three CDGK projects for girls in North Nazimabad on Sunday. These projects include the Government Polytechnic Institute for Girls, Vocational School for Girls and the Government Arts and Science Degree College for Girls.

Talking about the CDGK institutions for girls, Kamal said that the institutions will be functional within two months. The Government Polytechnic Institute for Girls will provide diploma courses in telecommunications, Information Technology (IT) and electronics while the Government Degree College for Girls will provide education in fields of arts and sciences. Daily Times

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