Punjab University Scholarship | Private schools fee issue

5,000 PU students to get scholarships
Lahore, Jan 23: The Punjab University (PU) Scholarship Committee meeting held on Thursday decided to award 5,000 scholarships on merit and to needy students.

According to a press statement, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran chaired the meeting while deans of faculties, PU treasurer and additional treasurer and members of the committee attended the meeting.

As many as 303 students of Faculty of Behavioural & Social Sciences, 643 of Faculty of Economics & Management Sciences, 250 of Faculty of Arts & Humanities, 1,030 of Faculty of Commerce, 428 of Faculty of Law, 114 of Faculty of Oriental Learning, 74 of Islamic Studies, 312 of Faculty of Engineering & Technology, 405 of Faculty of Life Sciences, 1118 of Faculty of Sciences, 272 of Pharmacy and 31 students of Faculty of Education will be offered scholarships on open merit and needy basis.

Addressing the meeting, PU VC Dr Mujahid Kamran directed the officials concerned to make the whole process transparent and adopt strict merit to award scholarships to the students. He directed all the deans to instruct the heads of departments to send the names of students keeping in view strict merit so that no student could be deprived of due right.

It was also decided in the meeting that a notice be sent to all the heads of teaching departments to send the lists of eligible students to the Scholarship Committee within 30 days for the award of merit and needy scholarships. It is noteworthy that under the PU annual scholarship scheme, Rs 12,000 each would be given to 2,500 students on merit and 2,500 needy students.

30,000 rare books donated to PU library: Renowned Pakistani journalist Maqbool Ahmad Dehlvi has donated a collection of over 30,000 rare journals and books to Punjab University Library.

According to a PU press statement issued on Thursday, the donation included 20,000 journals in Urdu, English and Gurmukhi languages and 12,000 rare books in Urdu and English. After retirement from State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Maqbool Dehlvi spent most of his time in his personal library.

He was associated with Daily Jang and served for many years as a reporter.

Thousands of his articles have been published in Daily Mashraq and Daily Jang's Sunday editions. He has also performed the duties of Editor in Ayena, Bano and Hina Lahore.

Moreover, many of his writings have been published in journal Tehzeeb, Zaib-un-Nisa, Hoor, Haram, Bano, Shama, Ayena, Muamma, Director, Shuja and Jaiza Naqsh.

It is to be mentioned that Maqbool Dehlvi is close relative of late Shahid Ahmad Dehlvi, a renowned literary personality of the great sub-continent.

PU signs MoU with US varsity: The Punjab University and Youngstown State University, Ohio, United States of America, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which both the varsities would collaborate in academic and research activities and exchange of students and teachers would be made possible.

PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran and Youngstown State University Provost and Vice President Academic Affairs Dr Ikram Khawja signed the memorandum documents at New Campus on Thursday. PU External Linkages Director Prof Dr Najma Najam, Registrar Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan and deans of all faculties were also present.

Dr Mujahid Kamran briefed Dr Ikram about the departments and faculties of the varsity and hoped that the collaboration would be very beneficial for faculty members and students of both the varsities. He said research on very important topics was being carried out at various science departments of Punjab University. He said there were vast opportunities of collaboration in the field of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Information Technology, Islamic studies and other disciplines.

Youngstown University Vice-President Dr Ikram Khawaja said he wished that the scientists and researchers of both the universities should collaborate in various fields.

He said there were vast opportunities of collaboration in the areas of Islamic Studies, various science departments, cyber technology, ethic studies and chemical technology. He said both the varsities could provide opportunities of post doctoral to researchers as well.

Punjab University declared MA, MSc results
Lahore: The Punjab University Examination Department has declared results.

According to a press statement, the results included those of MSc Zoology Part-I Annual Examination 2008, MSc Chemistry Part-II Annual Examinations 2008, MSc Physics Part-II Annual Examinations 2008, MA Arabic Part-II Annual Examinations 2008, MSc Mathematics Part-II Annual Examinations 2008, MSc Zoology Part-II Annual Examinations 2008, MA Physical Education Part-I Annual Examinations 2008, MA English Part-I and Part-II (Annual Examinations 2008), MA Political Sciences Part-I and Part-II (Annual Examinations 2008), BSc Applied Geology First Professional Second Annual 2006, MSc Chemistry (2-year programme, Morning Semester System) Session 2006-2008, MSc Chemistry (2-year programme, Evening Semester System), Session 2006-2008, MA History Part-I Annual Examination 2008 and MPhil Economics (Semester System) Session 2005-2007. Detailed results are available at PU website www.pu.edu.pk.

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Report sought from Punjab private schools charging Rs 2,500 fee
Lahore: The Punjab Schools Education Department has asked the leading private schools, which have been charging Rs 2,500 and more as minimum fee per student per month, to send details regarding their fee structure being implemented from class 1 to class 10.

It was learnt that the department aims to present the data before the committee recently constituted by the chief minister to review the existing Punjab Private Educational Institutions (Promotion and Regulation) Ordinance 1984, and to propose suitable amendments in the Ordinance with the view to establish a standard for infrastructure, teaching staff and adopted syllabus, curriculum and examination system of the private sector schools.

Officials of the department privy to the developments said the government was committed to cap fee structure of the private schools, as there had been growing concern by people in this regard.

They added in return, the government would also reciprocate by giving certain relaxation in different types of taxes, etc.

They said the Secretary Schools Nadeem Ashraf had recently ordered uniform registration policy under which all the private schools would be registered for a period of five years. "Earlier, there was no such uniform policy, which was a matter of great concern for the private schools", they added.

The officials further said since the Punjab Private Educational Institutions (Promotion and Regulation) Ordinance 1984 did not mention specific period of registration, in many cases open-ended registrations were also granted to private schools in past.

"This created a lot of confusion among the stakeholders", they said, adding, "The uniform registration policy will be a great service for private sector as well as for the department."

A senior official of the Schools Education Department, seeking anonymity, said that never in the past elite private schools had been asked by the department to share details about the fee structure. He said the data would be presented before the Chief Minister's special committee so that it might propose relevant amendments in the 1984 Ordinance necessary to cap fee structure of private schools. He said there had been great concern among the stakeholders that elite private schools had been charging heavy fees with frequent increases while facilities provided to students both in term of academic and infrastructure were not in proportion to the fee charged.

"There have also been reservations about various kinds of other charges being colleted by private schools", he said adding, "The mandatory purchase of books and uniforms from prescribed stores was another issue". The official further said all those elite schools, which had been offering matriculation stream and charging Rs 2,500 and more as monthly fee had been asked to send details about fee structure to the department.

To a question, he said fee charged from students seeking foreign qualifications like O and A level had not been asked by the department.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab government is currently working to establish an autonomous regulatory institution to oversee fee structure, registration, quality assurance and other aspects of private sector schools and in this connection, a committee comprising educationists, MPAs and private schools representatives had already been formed.

The committee would propose structure, constitution and legal framework for an autonomous regulatory institution for private schools operating across the province. The News

Teachers take to the street with wish-list
Vehari: A number of schoolteachers, assembling under the Punjab Teachers Union banner, on Thursday demonstrated outside the Press Club for a raise and other benefits.

The protesters, led by Vehari PTU President Rana Dilshad Ahmad, carried banners and placards and chanted slogans in order to draw attention of the powers-that-be towards their 'financial ills'. They demanded that their salaries be increased.

Among other demands were: time-scale promotions; teaching allowance; primary schoolteachers' salary equivalent to one-tola gold; regularisation of headmasters, subject specialists and contract educators; and abolition of disparity in allowances.

They also demanded that the government restore quota for teachers' children in educational institutions and recruitments. Dawn

Punjab Schools to get 60,000 computers
Lahore: Minister for Population Welfare Punjab Neelam Jabbar has said the government is introducing executable reforms in social sector through regeneration of existing resources to achieve maximum targets for the provision of better education, healthcare and sanitation facilities to the masses. She stated this while talking to various delegations on Thursday.

Neelam Jabbar said the computer laboratories were being established in 4000 schools of the province at a cost of Rs. five billion. She said this revolutionary step of Punjab government would help in imparting modern education to students of public schools to enable them to play their due role for the progress and prosperity of the country through benefiting from information technology. She said the government had decided to set up computer labs in public schools like developed nations did. Neelam said the present government had enhanced the education and heath budget so that mega projects could be started.

She said that Rs. 110 billion and 35 billion would be spent on education and health respectively whereas record amount of Rs. 160 billion had been reserved for developmental schemes. The minister said that revolutionary measures had been taken by the government for the improvement of education sector including establishment of endowment fund with Rs.two billion.

The government is paying special attention to the promotion of information technology in the province for which 60000 computers will be provided to the computer labs being established in the province for, she concluded. The News

Funding for BZU faculty approved
Multan: The government has approved Rs880 million funding for the faculty development programme under which teachers will be offered financial assistance for PhD studies, says Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Zafarullah Khan.

At a press conference at the BZU committee room on Thursday, Prof Khan said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had approved Rs880 million against university's demand for Rs1 billion for faculty development. He praised the prime minister for approving the funding despite financial constraints. He said that recession had forced the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to slash funding and abandon many projects which were in the pipeline.

He said any teacher who would opt for PhD studies would be provided Rs8 million financial assistance under this programme. The prime minister had promised to allocate Rs1 billion in the 2009-10 budget for the upgradation of Gilani Law College, Agriculture Engineering College and veterinary science, telecommunications and biotechnology departments of the university. Prof Khan said that work had begun on distance learning programme of the university and registration for the postgraduate programme would begin in March. App

Student pays the price for teacher's obedience
Khanewal: The district coordination officer (DCO) has suspended from service a female teacher after the fingers of one of her students were chopped off while cutting fodder for her cattle.

Reports said Azra Parveen ordered her student Samia, daughter of Rabnawaz Shajra of Gobandh Garh, to cut fodder for her cattle during school hours. While the student was doing the job, her fingers got chopped off by the cutter.

The teacher, instead of arranging medical aid for the student, sent her home. An inquiry has also been launched into the matter. App

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