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PMC Ahmedi students & traders strike
PMC students: traders stick to their call
Faisalabad, July 04, 2008: Most shopkeepers in the city district observed a
shutter-down strike on Thursday to press the authorities for registration of a
case against the Ahmedi students who had been rusticated from the Punjab Medical
College.
The strike call was given by the Anjuman-i-Tajran city and
clerics of different sects. All the main markets, including Clock Tower bazaars,
remained closed the whole day through.
Anjuman president Shahid Razzaq
Sakka and secretary-general Mahmood Alam said they were observing strike as a
last resort as the local administration and police had failed to register a case
against the Ahmedi students found guilty of "preaching their faith and removing
the posters of rival sects".
The successful strike in the district, they
said, indicated that people wanted action against the Ahmedi
students.
Sources said Senior Minister Raja Riaz, the DCO and the DIG
police did not appear for negotiations with the traders, though they had fixed a
meeting with them at 11am at the Jamia Masjid.
They said officials on
Wednesday night tried their level best to convince the traders of cancellation
of the strike call, but the latter remained adamant.
During the course of
speeches, many traders and clerics of different sects demanded a case against
the Ahmedi students under sections 295 and 298 of PPC. They passed a resolution
through which they stressed that "all those non-Muslims enjoying high ranks in
any department must be removed immediately".
A traders' action committee
meeting has been convened for Sunday to plan a future strategy. Dawn
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International membership awarded to UVAS
Lahore: International Association of Universities (IAU), France, has
awarded membership to the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS)
Lahore.
Admitting the UVAS as a member, the IAU observed that the
association had found UVAS credentials up to the standards set for international
universities for its membership. Founded in 1950 under the aegis of Unesco, the
IAU is an international organisation based in Paris, France.
It is a
membership organization bringing together 600 universities, institutions of
higher education and national and regional associations of universities from 150
countries.
The association provides its members and higher education
stakeholders a global meeting forum and various services such as information and
analysis on latest developments in higher education, advocacy of higher
education institutions' views and opportunities to build partnerships and
networks between higher education institutions worldwide as well as with various
international, regional and national bodies. On getting the IAU membership, UVAS
Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz said it was an honour that the UVAS
standards of education, research and training were compatible with international
universities and other seats of learning of higher education.
Meanwhile,
Directorate of Research of the UVAS arranged a seminar on "North American
Veterinary Licensing Exam (NAVLE) in the seminar room. Dr Ghulam Abbas, a
veterinary practitioner in the United States of America, was the guest speaker.
He spoke about the exam, how to prepare for it and what were the shortcomings in
Pakistani graduates for getting through this exam. DVM final year students
attended the seminar which ended after a question and answer session. The News
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Unavailability of teachers: '30 govt schools non-functional in Pindi district for years'
Rawalpindi: Around 30 government schools across the Rawalpindi district are either closed or
nonfunctional due to unavailability of teachers.
Sources in the district
education department said that most of such schools, especially those imparting
primary education, were located in remote areas of Kahuta, Gujar Khan, Kotli
Sattian and Murree, and had been without teachers for the last many
years.
Executive District Officer (Education) Chaudhry Yousaf denied
shortage of teachers in government schools. "These schools might have been short
of teachers in the past but this is certainly not the case for now, especially
after their merger with others," he said on Thursday.
The
sources said that elementary schools of Kurli, Garmala, Thati Syedan, Ghangar,
Aliot, Lona, Gatal, Baghar Sharif and Masi Gala in Kahuta tehsil had been closed
for the last three years.
Likewise, primary schools of Kontarila, Mohra
Mari, Nathial Kiyal, Galyari Gogri, Dhoke Kharkan and Miana Dalyal in Gujar Khan
Ward-II, those of Harnali Syedan Markaz Chontra, Malokal and Markaz Sadar Baroni
in Rawalpindi tehsil, those of Bhirbarian, Kandowal, Galyal, Kamra, Pind
Bharowatt, Bamal Hari, Basinda, Nimb Dara, Chapari Pinola and Baigal in Kotli
Sattian and those of Karhai, Puli Liskho Tara and Kohiti in Murree are also
nonfunctional, they said.
Statistics show that there are 224 primary
schools for girls and 206 for boys in Rawalpindi tehsil, 276 for girls and 184
boys in Gujar Khan, 112 for boys and 108 for girls in Murree, 101 for girls and
70 for boys in Kalar Syedan, 110 for girls and 84 for boys Kahuta, 48 for boys
and 31 for girls in Taxila and 83 for girls and 67 for boys in Kotli
Sattian.
They also say that Rawalpindi tehsil has 45 middle schools for
girls and 36 for boys, Gujar Khan 49 for girls and 31 for boys, Murree 12 for
girls and 13 for boys, Kalar Syedan 17 for girls and 11 for boys, Kahuta 14 for
boys and nine for girls, Taxila nine for boys and five for girls and Kotli
Sattian 11 for girls and nine for boys.
It's learnt that parents prefer
not to send their children to these schools under current
circumstances.
District Education Officer (Elementary-Female) Naseem
Altaf said that unavailability of qualified women in remote areas forced the
Education Department to hire teachers from urban areas for appointment at
far-away girls' schools.
She, however, said teachers quit job sooner or
later due to the schools' remoteness and unavailability of facilities. She said
that ban on recruitment had also made things worse on this count.
The DEO
said that the department should lower the criteria for teachers from BA/BEd to
FSc/FA. She also demanded better salary and conveyance allowance for the
teachers appointed at government schools in remote areas. Daily Times
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