Karachi university admissions, exams dates

KU announced admissions, exams dates
Karachi, Jan 18: The University of Karachi (KU) announced on Sunday the latest lists of valid claims Admissions 2010 (Morning and Evening Programme) for BS Hons/Pharm-D and BS (Third Year)/Masters Admissions 2010.

The list can be seen at www.uok.edu.pk, a spokesperson of KU said in a press release. The selected candidates are advised to contact the concerned department latest by January 20 to furnish the admission formalities. There will be no further extension for fee submission.

KU BDS final exams
Karachi: The Controller of Examinations has announced the programme of BDS Final Professional Annual Examinations 2010.

The Paper of Oral Surgery, Operative Dentistry, Prothodontics and Orthodontics will be conducted on January 20, 23, 26 and 28 respectively. All papers will be held from 10:00am to 1:00pm at the Department of Mathematics.

KUexams forms
Karachi: The Examination Forms and Fees of LLB (Final) Supplementary Exams, 2009, will be accepted till January 22.

Meanwhile, the Enrolment forms and fee of M.B.B.S. and B.D.S. for the academic session 2010 will be accepted till Jan 30. The news

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Karachi university running fake department
Karachi: An investigation into the affairs of Karachi University's sociology department has revealed that a parallel 'department' of criminology is being run here, though no paperwork has been done at the university to establish such a department.

A PhD degree has already been awarded from the department of criminology that doesn't exist on the campus. The degree was awarded at the university's convocation held last month.

The decision to award a PhD was taken at a meeting of the Board of Advanced Studies and Research (BASR), the university's highest body to regulate research on the campus, on Nov 11, 2009. A study of causes and consequences of human trafficking with special reference to terrorism in Pakistan. Prof Dr Fateh M. Burfat, who completed two tenures at the sociology department as its chairman, acted as the supervisor.

The KU's convocation document 2009 listing the names of students who got their degrees in 2009 clearly states that Mohammad Altaf Tahir has done PhD from the department of criminology (page 3). In the same document (page 125), there is a list of students who did their master's in criminology and population sciences (as course subjects) from the sociology department.

According to sources, the PhD thesis was completed in two-and-a-half years, though normally it takes five to seven years to complete a PhD thesis.

The KU offers the subject of criminology only as a master's level course on a self-finance basis under its evening programme.

Approved by the university's academic council, the master's level course is one of the most lucrative programmes of the university from which it earns over Rs10 million, according to Dr Burfat, a PhD in sociology.

Initially, an Institute of Applied Criminology was established in 1995-96 at the KU's department of psychology on a self-finance basis in the evening. Prof Dr Shamim Hashmi, then chairperson of the department of psychology, was its director and Dr Shoaib Suddle, former DIG of the Sindh police, was the technical advisor on its managing board.

The institute was closed down soon when the Pakistan People's Party's government was removed. The other reason cited for its closure was the lack of required number of students.

In 2000, a master's programme in criminology was launched in the evening, this time by the department of sociology headed by Prof Dr Khalida Rehman.

Later, the term 'criminology' was unofficially changed into criminological sciences in 2005 for some unknown reasons. A master's programme in population science was launched by the same department two years ago.

In various official letters and department notifications, the department of sociology has been referred to with different names – department of sociology/criminology, department of sociology and population sciences, department of sociology, population sciences and criminology and also as department of sociology, criminology and population sciences as is stated at the KU website.

Even BASR seems to have no clues to the actual name of the department. For instance, a BASR resolution passed on Dec 13, 2005 states: "This is to inform you that your case for admission to MPhil/PhD has been approved, as a research student in the department of applied criminology."

The thesis' title was Analytical study of dacoities in Sindh; causes, pattern and interventions to be supervised by Dr Fateh M. Burfat.

Another BASR resolution, passed on July 7, 2005, says that the case of Altaf Tahir for admission to MPhil/PhD in criminology under the guidance of Dr Fateh M. Burfat, the department of sociology, is referred back to the dean of arts for comments about the eligibility for admission of the candidate keeping in view the master's degree of the candidate.

No lab at 'criminology department'

Students who have completed master's degrees in criminology said that they took admission to the department of criminology and not to the department of sociology.

"We wrote the name of the department of criminology where we were supposed to write the name of the department while we were seeking admission. There were no two opinions about this. Our enrollment and university cards also state the same," a student said while pointing to the signboard placed on the department's building which bears the names of two departments: department of sociology and department of criminology.

Students complained that no laboratory facilities were offered to them though they had paid the highest fee compared to students of other departments.

"We paid around Rs14,000 at the time of admission while the semester fee is Rs12,000. There is no forensic lab facility at the 'department' nor are we taken to one. The entire teaching faculty is incompetent and unqualified for teaching criminology except one teacher," they said.

One of their grievances was the collection of money by the teaching staff on various pretexts. According to these students, they were divided into four groups last year and asked to collect Rs50,000 each to prepare for a course presentation.

Senior teachers at the university contend that the major reason why there is no competent person to teach criminology is the fact that the professors hired from the sociology department to teach criminology have done no research in the subject.

"The teachers just translate what is written in English. Whatever little I have learnt is from professionals who come to study here, or other sources such as foreign documentaries on the subject," a student said.

These professionals, according to students, comprised personnel of the army, police and intelligence agencies. A graduate from any background can apply for the course. Most professionals apply for the course with the intention to get a promotion or an increment in their jobs after receiving the master's degrees.

A large number of these professionals of the country's security apparatus have already got their degrees from the KU which obviously bring into question their credibility.

The students also raised the point that why no student who had done his master's in criminology from the KU had been appointed lecturer at the 'department' so far, though 10 years had passed since its establishment. Prof Dr Burfat said there was no department of criminology on the campus and the signboard stating so would be removed.

"These subjects (criminology and population sciences) are taught as courses at the sociology department. The signboard whose cost is around Rs60,000 was donated by a student two years ago. The administration can remove it anytime," he said, adding that if students didn't mention the name of the department of criminology in their admission forms, the chances were that they would be inducted into the sociology department.

Regarding the different names of the department in official letters, Dr Rana Saba Sultan, the chairperson of the department, said that this might have happened by mistake.

Dr Burfat denied that any degrees had been awarded in criminology and said the MS/PhD programme for criminology had not yet been approved.

When asked about why teachers who lacked any expertise in criminology were teaching the subject, he said the teachers had studied the subject as a course and were good at it.

"New appointments in the regular faculty could be made only if the programme is initiated in the morning. I have raised this issue many times with the vice-chancellor and also written to the Higher Education Commission to help us (KU) launch an institute of criminology with a separate building, but to no avail."

When it was pointed out why no help was being taken from the expertise available in the field at the KU, he said the problem was that the teachers in other departments had knowledge in their own spheres of research and failed to relate it to criminology.

About students' concern over the lack of facilities, he said it was a forensic laboratory and was a hugely costly affair.

"Over 250 students have done their master's in the programme, which is a success, both in terms of enrollment and finances. No funding is provided by the university. If we had made the admission criteria strict that could have resulted in low enrollment. You can't run a self-finance-based programme with low enrollment."

Prof Dr Pirzada Qasim, the vice-chancellor of the KU, also denied having the department of criminology on the campus and said the department of sociology only offered it as a course.

"The board would be removed when the administration would carry out whitewash of the departments." Dawn

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Derogatory behaviour of HEC
Karachi: The Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) has expressed strong reservations on the patronising and derogatory behaviour of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) towards the university and has called for a General Body Meeting on January 20 to discuss the situation.

The President, KUTS, Dr Abid Hasnain, referred to the letter written by the HEC to the university, in which it has threatened Karachi University (KU) with their intention not to recognise the 123 PhD degrees awarded in 2009. The reason, cited by the HEC is: that some of the students had not submitted the mandatory two research papers published in the journals of repute. Dr Hasnain termed the attitude discriminatory.

According to the details, the letter was read at the meeting of the Board of Advanced Study and Research (BASR) and some members considered it threatening in nature. "The HEC is transgressing its authority and the KU is in the firing line. It is not acceptable to us", Dr Hasnain pointed out.

Dr Hasnain expressed his surprise at the casual and humiliating attitude of the HEC towards the KU that had attained 223rd position in the world ranking. "We are the largest university and producing largest quantum of research but the HEC seems oblivious to all this", Dr Hasnain concluded.

According to a senior professor who requested anonymity, the HEC had asked the university to start testing the teachers before they were admitted to the MS/PhD courses. They (the teachers) were exempted from taking the test for one year only and now some teachers of the university want that the exemption should continue while others say it was not fair.

"How can we maintain the standard of our research fellows if we are not strict with the admission criteria. We need PhDs, but we also need quality that should be the hallmark of the researchers", he argued.

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Students movement in Pakistan
Karachi: "The only prospect for the revival of the Left, progressive movement in Pakistan is through the students", said Dr S Akhtar Ehtisham, a student leader in the 1950s and 1960s.

"The National Students Federation (NSF) has been revived in Punjab and is quite active there and if we work at it the NSF will gradually come back to Karachi, as the students of Karachi and the people of Karachi are the most informed people in the country," he further added.

Dr Ehtisham who is an orthopedic surgeon, is now based in New York. He was in town to attend the Dr. Sarwar celebrations held at the Arts Council, Karachi and the Pakistan Medical Association House on January 9-10. In an interview, he said that students have the potential to lead the democratic and progressive movement in Pakistan. "In the past they took the lead in progressive and leftist movements and there is no reason why they should not take the take the helm again," he said.

Born in Dewa Sharif, Barabanki, UP, India, on December 19, 1939, Ehtisham's family migrated to Pakistan after the Partition. "We got infected with the Pakistan virus," he writes in his book, "Across Three Continents-A South Asian Perspective."

He earned his B.Sc (Honours) with a major in chemistry from the University of Karachi in 1957 and was exposed to political activism by a classmate, Sibghatullah Kadri who was a veteran of the student movement in Pakistan. Thereafter, Ehtisham enrolled himself at the Dow Medical College where the NSF ruled the roost.

"The January 7, 1953 student movement led by the Democratic Students Federation (DSF) was the first major student movement in West Pakistan and it developed into an all Pakistan movement with participation of delegates from the then East Pakistan, Punjab, North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Balochistan and interior Sindh," said Ehtesham.

"It culminated in to the formation of the All Pakistan Students Organisation (APSO). Iqbal Ahmed was elected the president and Mohammad Sarwar the general secretary of APSO," he said. "But it is not true, that DSF was first formed in Karachi. It was established in Lahore, in 1949 by Abid Hasan Manto and Akhter Naqvi. But it is true that DSF made an impact from Karachi," he added.

Ehtisham said that there were many card holders of the Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP) in DSF. He said the CPP leader, Hasan Nasir who was tortured to death in the Lahore Fort in 1960 was a very dynamic person and his choice was Sher Afzal

Malik as the leader on the student front and many party activists who were senior resented him. "The over all lead for the national students' movement was given by DSF leaders in Karachi. Curiously enough, the core of the leadership came from the Dow Medical College, Karachi, which produced leaders such as Sarwar, Haroon and Hashmi. The college was also to produce arguably the most important of the student leaders, Sher Afzal who figured prominently in student politics in late 50's to mid 60's," writes Ehtisham in his book.

Ehtisham stated that Sher Afzal spoke Urdu, English, Pushto, Sindhi and Gujarati. He was also elected as the president of the Dow Medical College Students' Union in 1956 and NSF president in 1957.

"In 1961, the students of Karachi led the first show of strength against the Ayub regime. This was led by Sher Afzal Malik," Ehtisham pointed out.

"There is a definite sense of deprivation among the people of Karachi and by not having any viable alternative, they have joined ethnic organisations," he said. "But if this deprivation is taken up seriously and sincerely, there is no reason why the under privileged from of all the provinces would not join under the banner of a Left, progressive movement," he added.

Dr Ehtisham left for England in 1965 and has worked in United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. He is now retired and has devoted himself to writing.

"I am developing a project called God, government and globalisation to link religion, establishment and corporations," he said. The news

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Standard of education
Nawabshah: MNA Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho has said that the government is trying to improve the quality of education.

Speaking at a ceremony for distribution of job offers for school teachers at the H.M. Khoja auditorium here on Sunday, she said that the standard of education was low and steps were being taken to set things right.

Establishment of an educational university was one such step, she added. Besides, she said that the Provincial Institute of Teachers' Education is being upgraded to help prepare good teachers.

The university, she said, would offer training courses and BEd and PhD programmes for teachers.

She said that providing basic education and health facilities to the public was the priority issue for the government.

He said the department was trying to reopen the non-functioning schools by recruiting teachers, but it would take some time. MNA Faryal Talpur's aide Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar said that hundreds of girls from rural area in the district were getting free education in the Benazir Bhutto Public School set up with the help of the MNA.

DCO Jamal Mustafa Syed also spoke on the occasion.

Earlier, Dr Azra distributed appointment letters among nine high school and 21 junior school teachers and promotion orders among 46 high school teachers.

She also distributed appointment letters to 134 feeder teachers of the NCHD.

Meanwhile, candidates for jobs of primary teachers who have cleared tests held a demonstration outside the H.M. Khoja auditorium demanding that job letters be issued to them without further delay. Dawn

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