Educational projects proper funding

Education department told to initiate fully-funded projects
Lahore, Jan 6: The Public Accounts Committee-I (PAC-I) of the Punjab Assembly has directed the education department to initiate only fully-funded educational projects in future.

Taking up audit paras regarding the education department, the committee was annoyed to see wastage of funds through building of schools and colleges and not posting staff there for 'lack' of funds.

It noted with concern that there were 87 such schools and colleges in Faisalabad district alone which had buildings but classes could not be started there for paucity of funds to post teaching and other staff.

Committee chairman and opposition leader Chaudhry Zaheeruddin directed that in future no educational project should be initiated without ensuring proper funding for its staff.

The committee also sought creation of a new vacancy of sweeper in primary schools to bar teachers from using their pupils for sweeping of the institutions. The education department was asked to immediate move a summary to the authorities concerned in this regard.

The PAC-I members were perturbed to know that some teachers were absent from their places of duty but receiving salaries regularly and called for recovery of the amount as well as registration of FIRs against the people concerned.

The district education administration and the district accounts department were asked to devise a mechanism for preventing absent government employees from receiving their salaries and one of the solutions could be informing the accounts people about the absent servants. Dawn

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KC students, faculty protest against principal, registrar
Lahore: A large number of Kinnaird College (KC) students and faculty members on Monday protested against college Principal Dr Bernadette Louise and Registrar Naima Khursheed.

The condition worsened when the registrar allegedly manhandled the students for protesting inside the college and then outside on the Jail Road. They shouted slogans against the principal and the registrar and demanded the board of governors replace them for the "betterment of the college".

On the first working day after the winter vacation, around 300 Kinnaird students – joined by several faculty members – gathered inside the campus to protest against the sacking of seven senior teachers by the principal on December 23. The college administration, several gatekeepers and employees tried to keep the students inside by locking the gate. The students, however, forced their way out and protested on the streets while some remained inside.

A number of students boycotted their classes and said they will go back only after the registrar and the principal have been replaced. They carried placards, saying 'Our teachers are our asset, we want them back', 'Go dean go', 'All students and teachers are united against this dictatorship' and 'We are here to save KC'. The college administration had banned entry of the sacked teachers inside the campus.

Rabia, a KC student, said the students were boycotting the classes. She said the FA/FSc students were suffering as they are supposed to have their examinations in a few months, adding they could not attend classes as the teachers were also involved in the protest.

Dr Saira Malik, the sacked head of the Political Science Department said that they were not allowed inside the campus. She said they had been affiliated with the college for a long time and will fight to save its dignity.

She said the teachers had only been sacked for raising their voices against the mismanagement of the principal. When the protesting students went back inside, they were "manhandled" by Dr Naima. The registrar allegedly slapped some of them and later locked them up in a room with a warning that they would be expelled if they protested again.

Maira, another student, confirmed the manhandling, saying the students will continue protesting against the sacking of their teachers. Dr Louise claimed the classes were going according to schedule, while a KC employee denied the principal's claims that there was any academic activity in the college.

A large number of parents was also present in front of Kinnaird College to join the protest. Some parents even demonstrated in front of the Lahore Press Club, demanding the Punjab chief minister take action against the alleged misuse of authority by the KC principal and the registrar.

Mrs Tehseen, mother of a student, said it was torture to lock up the students. She said she was an old KC student herself and it is tragic to see such incidents happening in the historic institution.

KC Islamic Studies Department Head Farukh Sohail said that she received threatening calls after the protest and alleged that the registrar was behind them. She said she will take action against it. Daily times

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BISE Lahore announced last date of matric forms
Lahore: Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore has announced that last date for submission of forms by regular candidates for upcoming matriculation annual examination 2010 is January 9, 2010 with single fee. The exam will commence from March 13, 2010.

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Speech contests results
Lahore: Chief Minister Punjab Provincial Urdu/English Speech Competitions of secondary level completed on Monday in which 108 boys and girls from nine divisions of the province participated.

results issued by DGPR showed that Taha Muhammad of Science Locus School, Gujranwala stood first, Syed Agah Karim of Central Modal School, Samanabad, second and Liaquat Ali of Government High School remained got third position in secondary level Urdu speech competition, among boys.

Among girls, Fiza Rehman of Dar-e-Arqam School, Garden Town Lahore secured first position, Quratulain of Fauji Foundation High School Khushab, second and Atika Wajid of Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Awan Town Lahore secured third position.

In English speech competition, among girls Rida Mukhtar of Fauji Foundation High School Khushab, Ayesha Nazar of Defence Public School Lahore and Rukaia Shabir of Siddique Public School, Rawalpindi, achieved first, second and third positions respectively.

Among boys, M Ansab of Chinab College, Jhang stood first, Shah Rukh Khan stood second and Shabir Hassan Shaheer achieved third position.

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Smoke-free environment
Lahore: The evidence is now indisputable that secondhand smoke is an alarming public health hazard, responsible for tens of thousands of premature deaths among non-smokers each year, Prof. M.H. Mubbashar, Vice Chancellor, University of Health Sciences (UHS), said on Monday.

Prof. Mubbashar warned that measures like "no-smoking areas" did not provide adequate protection, adding "smoke-free environments were the only approach that protected non-smokers from the dangers of secondhand smoking".

He was addressing a meeting arranged by the Punjab Chapter of National Alliance for Tobacco Control in collaboration with UHS and World Health Organisation held on Monday.

He further said that there was no safe level of secondhand smoking, and even brief exposure could cause harm, especially for people suffering from heart or respiratory diseases.

"For non-smoking adults, exposure raises the risk of heart disease by 25 percent to 30 percent and of cancer by 20 percent to 30 percent".

UHS VC said more needed to be done, particularly to protect the children. He urged the parents who smoked not only to quit but also to smoke outside while trying to quit. "Make the home a smoke-free environment first", he said.

Shahzad Alam Khan of the World Health Organisation said that about 200,000 people died every year because of secondhand smoking the world over.

He said there was a need for raising awareness among the public and opinion leaders about the hazards of secondhand smoking.

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Creative writing workshop
Lahore: The Government College University (GCU) on Monday organised a workshop on creative writing, which was conducted by Dr Robert Reid, a writer and scholar from the United States.

Speaking on the occasion, he said writers should pen stories in their native languages, the language in which images appeared to them in their subconscious. Then, they should translate those stories into English for a wider audience", he added.

The participants shared with Dr Reid problems confronted by them while writing and inscribing their experiences in the form of short fiction. Dr Reid emphasised the need and importance of accuracy in creative writing.

Dr Reid also read his story 'Thaddeus' and then invited comments and questions from the audience. He also explained to the young writers' importance of description and the patterns that described developing action as the keys to communication in general and particular.

In the second part of the workshop, the participants were asked to write a piece of short fiction employing various devices and techniques explained to them. The workshop was organised by GCU Safdar Mir English Literary Circle (SMELC). The news

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