Karachi door-to-door education campaign

Move from Lyari to Taiser Town brings education and hope
Karachi, Jan 9: If 25-year-old Shazia Mansha had still been living along the Lyari riverbed amidst the heaps of garbage and sewage waste, she would never have made it beyond the tenth grade. She is, however, now proud to have a bachelor's degree and is working as a schoolteacher in Taiser town.

Mansha is one of the 19 Christian teachers who have been employed at different schools of Taiser Town. Her fate changed when her slum in Golimar was razed some five years ago to make way for the Lyari Expressway Project and the residents were resettled in Taiser town.

"I keep on thanking the Lord for moving me here and making me able to see the beauty of the world apart from the area near the Lyari River. Living there I was clueless and aimless. If I had still been living there my parents would have gotten me married and I would have simply wasted my life doing nothing productive," said a confident Mansha.

She told The News that she worked hard to convince her family to give her permission to pursue education. "When we moved to Taiser Town the administration started a door-to-door campaign encouraging young women to pursue education. The management then took steps to employ community women at schools so that they could become independent and be able to support themselves and their families," she said.

Taiser Town proved to be a blessing for many other Christian women, by providing them with a new lifestyle, a new home and a better future.

One such person is Veronica James who is a teacher as well as the in-charge of the town's government Boys Secondary School. "The resettlement was a huge turning point for my and many others' lives," she said, adding that they are frequently given training for teaching. "Then we are also given courses related to information technology, science and other fields," she elaborated.

James feels that the employment of women has uplifted the minority community which has been in the grip of poverty and illiteracy for so long. "By living in Taiser town I have realised the importance of education and the importance of spreading it to others," she said.

Moreover she added that everyone is treated in the same manner and there is no discrimination between the Muslims and the minorities in the town. "If there had been discrimination of any kind, I would never have been promoted to the post of the in-charge," said a glowing James.

Meanwhile according to the Executive Engineer of the Taiser Town Administration Yawar Mehdi the town has changed the lives of millions of people especially the lives of the minorities. "In section 35-C of the town reside some 1,200 Christians peacefully and harmoniously.

Our main aim is to educate and empower the women of every community as we believe that the women are the ones who can mould and change the future of the younger generation.

If a woman is educated then the future generations could move towards prosperity and development," he told The News, adding that they are working hard to build a separate school for the Christians so that more women could be provide jobs. The news

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Dr Nazir, new VC of Sindh university
Hyderabad: The newly appointed Vice Chancellor of the University of Sindh, Profesor Dr Nazir A. Mughal, has said that he would pay special attention to liberal sciences and research and added that liberal sciences need a serious attention as they help in the process of nation building.

He said that his priorities would be to develop research culture at the campus adding that research was essential for development of society.

Mr Mughal was speaking At the grave of Allama I.I. Kazi, founder of the university where he had come to offered fateha after taking charge of the office of vice chancellor from Mazharul Haq Siddiqui on Friday.

Mr Mughal said that attention would also be paid to resolve the problems of the students and faculty members.

He said that he would strictly follow merit and rules and regulations. His priority would l be to bring unity among faculty, students and employees of the university.

A large number of faculty members, employees and officers welcomed the new vice chancellor of the university, said a press release issued by the university authorities.

The office-bearers of Sindh University Teachers Association also met with the new vice-chancellor.

The Governor of Sindh, who is Chancellor of the Universities of Sindh, has appointed Mr Mughal as the VC of the university for a term of four years through a notification issued on January 7.

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Interviews postponed
Hyderabad: The University of Sindh announced on Friday that interviews for research associates of English scheduled to be held on Jan 11, had been postponed. Dawn

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Parents day at Cadet College
Larkana: Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir has said goal-oriented education is only barometer to gauge the level of any nation's progress.This he said while addressing as chief guest at a ceremony on occasion of the 18th Annual Parents Day at Cadet College Larkana (CCL), some 26kms from here, on Wednesday.He said it was only through quality education aimed at personality and character building of the youth that terrorism could be uprooted.

The Chief of the Naval Staff said that enlightened youth could not only stop wrong deeds but they could also transform them into good ones.

He said it was the triangle of parents, teachers and students that could achieve the aforementioned objective.

Addressing the cadets he said that they should always remember that ideas without actions do not produce any result.

"You should venture into the fields that no one had dared before and try to accomplish the most daunting tasks that were a matter of pride to you, your parents, and the institution and to your motherland," he added.

He said that the cadet college had gifted them (cadets) the power of pen coupled with the wisdom of book and developed their abilities to visualize, organize and execute. 

While appreciating the facilities and degree of commitment of the institution's staff, he said that the cadet college was excelling at national level in providing quality education to the future leadership of Pakistan.

Admiral Noman Bashir said Cadet College Larkana would be a nursery of future leaders. On the occasion the Naval Chief announced an endowment of Rs 500,000 for the college and also assured extending complete cooperation to the college.

Earlier, The Principal and the Project Director of Cadet College Larkana (CCL) Professor Muhammad Yusuf, in his welcome address, presented the annual report and narrated the achievements of the college and academic activities and co-curricular activities of the institution, pledging that no stone be left unturned to produce committed youth, duely equipped with character and competence to make them able to shoulder the responsibilities in various walks of national life.

Besides parents of the cadets, the ceremony was attended by Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower Syed Khursheed Shah, General Officer Commanding 16 Division Panao Akil Garrison Major General Akhtar Iqbal, DCO Larkana Muhammad Jaffar Abbasi, DPO Larkana Irfan Baloch, Ex-Ambassador to UAE Abdul Razzak Soomro, members of the Board of Governors of the College, Prominent citizens, elected representatives of the area and civil and army officers. APP

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