Sex scandals rocked IIUI
Shame covers sleaze
Islamabad, Feb 13: Sex scandals have rocked the International Islamic
University Islamabad (IIUI) in recent months, with several faculty and
staff members accused of preying upon the vulnerable female students or
juniors. Many connected with the university admit that
"seedy affairs had been going on in the holy precincts" for some time.
But they did not speak on record. Acting president Sahabzada
Sajidur Rehman of the university, however, confirmed that recently a
professor and a librarian left the university after allegations of rape
emerged against them. "We did not approach the police to
investigate the allegations as it would have brought bad name to the
university and set parents of the 9,500 girls studying here worrying,"
he said on Thursday. Sources in the university claimed that
the professor of economics department used to offer his victims "good
marks" in examinations in return for sex. He would even force himself
upon the unwilling with threats of failing her. It was shocking to
hear the president of the University Staff Welfare Association,
Chaudhry Mohammad Nazir, say "the situation is far worse than what you
know". IIUI sources said the professor's escapades came to an end
after he landed his last victim on January 20, a Friday. The university
asked the victim to file a formal complaint for initiating action
against the accused but her family refused. However, the students
union took up her case and threatened the university administration it
would go public with the evidence, the sources said. It was
claimed to be the same kind of evidence that had gone viral on the
internet and forced the university's old librarian to resign a few
months earlier. That was despite the university administration's
alleged attempt to make his victim – a female assistant – to resign on
the charge that she was a willing partner. But she firmly refused and
went on leave. On her return, the administration assigned her to a new department, according to her colleagues. It
is not that families of the victims of coercive sex took their
sufferings lying down. One father reported a senior faculty member to
the Prime Minister's Secretariat which instructed the Islamabad police
to investigate. When the investigators arrived to probe, however,
the university officials pleaded with them to hush up the matter as "the
accused has already been punished" and a probe would only tarnish the
image of the university and scare the parents. It is a different
matter that for the librarian the punishment meant retiring six months
before it was due, and for the professor resigning on his own and
securing a new job in the National Agriculture Research Centre,
allegedly with the help of friends in the bureaucracy. Dawn
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GCU convocation on 22nd
Lahore: The 10th convocation of the Government College University (GCU) will be
held at the university's Bokhari Auditorium on February 22. About 1,300
students from graduation to PhD would be awarded degrees, academic
medals and Rolls of Honor this year at the convocation. The first formal
convocation of the Government College, Lahore, was held in April 1909.
The then Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab Sir Louis Dane was the chief
guest on this occasion. The first convocation of GC as a university was
held in 2002.
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LCWU admission date
Lahore: Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) has extended the date for admission
to Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (PGDT), a new evening programme
offered by the varsity's Department of Education. The application forms
for admission can be obtained and submitted in Information Office of
LCWU till February 15, 2012.
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Private medical colleges up fee with retrospective effect
Lahore: Private medical/dental colleges have increased their fee structure by 20 per
cent with effect from the ongoing session on the basis of a notification
by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) with retrospective
effect. It is worth mentioning that the colleges have already
completed admission process for the session 2011-2012. The latest
increase in fee structure has brought the dues close to Rs 800,000 for
securing admission to first year MBBS/BDS classes in private
medical/dental colleges in the province. It has been learnt
through students and their parents that several private medical/dental
institutions have started charging 20 per cent extra as balance fee from
the ongoing session - a phenomenon seemed to be emerging in connivance
with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, often dubbed as Private
Medical and Dental Council, as it had "intentionally" left this room by
avoiding to specifically mention the 20 per cent raise in fee structure
with effect from the ongoing or upcoming session. According to
documents available, the management of a private medical
college had asked the students to deposit Rs 100,000 balance fee as per
notification of the PMDC. It may be mentioned that, as per
challan form, last date for submission of balance fee is February 15,
2012. Earlier, according to a student's receipt dated November 1st, 2011
– available with The News – the college has already received Rs 649,285
against First Year MBBS college fee for the session 2011-2012. The
private medical colleges cannot charge any raise in fee structure by
the PMDC retrospectively. It is also learnt that other private medical
colleges are also raising their fees retrospectively – to the detriment
of parents/students' financial interest, who condemned PMDC for leaving
them completely on the mercy of private medical colleges. The
medical graduates blame the PMDC for this anomaly as tuition fees varied
substantially in different private medical/dental colleges. The
students/parents demand refund of balance fee of Rs 100,000 by
withdrawing the decision to implement the raise with effect from the
ongoing session. Meanwhile, Young Doctors Association (YDA),
Pakistan, has written to the private medical/dental colleges not to
raise fees "unlawfully" by "misquoting" the letter from the Pakistan
Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) in this regard. It has written letters
under the subject "Increase in tuition fee" to principals of four out
of 11 private medical/dental colleges in Lahore, asking them to refrain
from increasing fees for the ongoing session 2011-12 unlawfully. YDA General Secretary Dr Salman Kazmi said the YDA would
write letters to remaining seven private institutions in a couple of
days against their decision to increase fees unlawfully, vowing to
challenge the PMDC's decision to increase fees in the court of law. Prof Laeeq Hussain Siddiqui, principal of a medical
college, confirmed that the private medical/dental colleges had been
charging Rs 100,000 as balance fee with effect from the current session
on the basis of PMDC's notification of 20 per cent increase in fee
structure. To a question whether the fee raise had to be raised from the
current or next session, he clarified that PMDC had not mentioned about
any specific session for implementation of fee raise but forgot that
his own institution had taken definite decision to implement the raise
with retrospective effect. Earlier, he said, in view of unchanged
fee structure during the last five years, the members of the PMDC had
gives a representation to the Council to review the fee structure with
the current rate of inflation affecting the cost of faculty and
equipment, paraphernalia and other infrastructure in this regard. To a
question, he said all the private medical/dental colleges were charging
balance fee of the ongoing session. The News tried to contact
PMDC Registrar Dr Ahmad Nadeem Akbar but he was not available for
comments to clarify the perception that the PMDC was serving the vested
elements' interests, which was evident from the fact that PMDC's
executive committee largely comprised of more than 90 per cent of its
members from the private sector – with very little representation from
the public sector.
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Arfa's name not on software park site
Lahore: The officials handling the website of the Software Technology Park,
http://www.stp.pitb.gov.pk have yet to wake up and mention the name of
the late Arfa Karim Randhawa on the website of the technology park,
despite the lapse of about a month since the genius child died and the
consequent announcement by the CM to rename the technology park. One
wonders as to why a task which is meant to be done in just a few
minutes still remains to be done. Though Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz
Sharif announced renaming the Software Technology Park as the Arfa
Software Technology Park the very next day after the world's youngest
Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) Arfa Karim Randhawa died in
Lahore, the CM on February 9 formally inaugurated Arfa Software
Technology Park. Arfa Karim Randhawa, 16, had died on January 14
this year. She became the world's youngest Microsoft Certified
Professional in 2004 at the age of just 9. She was also invited to the
Microsoft headquarters by Bill Gates in recognition of her achievement.
She was also a recipient of the President's Award for Pride of
Performance. The news
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UMT hosts statistical science conference
Lahore: The University of Management and Technology
(UMT) hosted the 11th Islamic Countries Conference on Statistical
Sciences (ICCS-11) at its campus on Friday. Addressing on
the occasion, UMT Rector Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad welcomed all delegates
from Pakistan and abroad to the ICCS-11. He commended the leadership of
the Islamic Countries Society of Statistical Sciences for their
unwavering commitment to the cause of organizing and networking all
statistical professions. Dr Hasan said that statistics had been a strong suit of Muslims throughout the history and even today. "Islam
is all about counting and accounting, forecasting and preparation.
Thus, quantitative understanding, analytical tools and statistical
sciences are rooted in our faith as Muslims", he said. Dr Hasan
said the expanding population of the Muslim word was a liability and a
blessing as well. The challenge before the Muslim statisticians was to
plan ahead for the Ummah so that this huge human potential was utilized
positively for the betterment of the Muslim world. Dawn
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Islamic University professors asked to take salary cut or quit
Islamabad: In a unique communication of its kind the International Islamic University,
Islamabad (IIUI) has issued a letter to dozens of its employees ordering
a huge take-it or quit salary cut and only three weeks have been given
to decide. The employees were receiving the salaries for the last
many years but they have been told to apprise the university whether
they wanted to continue after this cut or not so that the varsity could
fill the posts with new recruits. The
humiliating letter which has shocked many in the number two university
in the country has given three weeks to its lecturers and professors to
intimate to the university administration their decision, whether they
wanted to continue their job or not. The letter basically informs
senior members of the teaching faculties (Faculty of Management
Sciences and Faculty of Engineering and Technology) in the University
that an incentive which was being given to them since last more than ten
years will be discontinued from September 1, 2012 in order to finish a
disparity in salaries of old and some new employees of the university. Senior
staff members of these faculties said that most of them had
left their handsome professional jobs to join the university because of
good packages but now they were placed in a position where they are
humiliated through a grimy letter offering them even lower salaries as
compared to their salary in their previous organizations. It is
important to mention that staff at both the faculties of management
sciences and engineering and technology, usually have to work in two
shifts, from the morning to late in the evening, as compared to staff of
other faculties in the university who finish their work early
afternoon. Besides this the tuition fee charged from a student
of these faculties is minimum Rs70,000 per semester as compared Rs12,000
to Rs15,000 in other faculties of the university. These
faculties admit multiple batches of students after every six months as
compared to other faculties which usually give admission to one batch in
a semester. The senior staff members of these faculties, who
were demanding raise in their salaries consistent with their nature,
quality and quantity of work are now facing humiliation at the hands of
management of the university. These senior lecturers and
professors have decided to immediately demand of the university to
instantly remove the disparity in tuition fee of different faculties'
students and bring to the same level and have also decided to give
admission to only one batch in all their departments from the next
semester even if the humiliating letter is withdrawn. Rector
IIUI, Professor Fateh Muhammad Malik, who is a respected intellectual,
when contacted, said that that these faculties were drawing two
salaries, one as basic pay while the other as an incentive, and the
university's board of directors has decided that no one can be given two
salaries for one job. Moreover, he mentioned that the previous
management had started this incentive so that teachers should not move
to any other university but now, IIUI BoD had decided to stop giving
that incentive from September 2012 and the teachers have been given an
opportunity to stay or not to stay with IIUI. He said that those who
work in the second shift get a separate stipend from the university. Meanwhile,
a senior member of faculty of Engineering and Technology told this
correspondent that the said incentive was started in 1997 when the
departments that were profit earning, were given an incentive along with
their salaries to make their salaries compatible with those paid to
their counterparts in other such universities. He mentioned that
the payment was never a separate salary, but an incentive to make the
salaries compatible with the market. He said that no one gets a separate
stipend from the university for working in two or three shifts. "All we
get is one salary which will now be reduced because of the humiliating
letter," said the teacher.
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'Mehfil-e-Milad' held at City School
Rawalpindi: A grand function to celebrate Eid Milad-un-Nabi was held at the City
School, Civil Lines Nursery Branch. The 'milad' was attended by the
regional academic coordinator of the City School, Misbah Khursheed, and
mothers and grandmothers of nursery students. The dress code of the
'milad' was white shalwar qameez, white caps for boys, whereas girls
wore coloured dupattas. 'Naats' were recited by children of all classes.
Children informed the audience about the habits of a true 'momin' and
stated examples from Hadith. The 'milad' ended with 'salam' and 'dua'.
Mothers praised the efforts of Headmistress Sumaira Shafiq, staff and
students. The news
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