Punjab University BA/BSc registration 2010

BA/BSc registration
Lahore, July 20: The Punjab University (PU) on Sunday said July 31 was the last date for registration of private candidates for the BA/BSc Annual Examination, 2010, with double fee, Rs 3,200. In a press statement, a PU spokesman said the candidates must write their addresses on the forms instead of addresses of their private colleges, academies or any friend/relative, otherwise, the forms would be rejected.

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Why appoint PhDs as administrators?
Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif recently lamented the lack of research at institutes of higher learning, expressing dissatisfaction over the low number of PhD teachers at the Punjab University.

Giving a proof as to how important a PhD teacher was for the government, he even announced "If the PU succeeds in getting PhD faculty members' ratio from 35 to 100 percent in coming five-years, the government will provide Rs 100 millions annually to the varsity."

Seen in this context, the appointment of PhD degree holders on various administrative posts by the Punjab government is certainly no less than enigma.

At present, various administrative posts, including those at different educational boards, other autonomous bodies and different wings of education department have been occupied by PhD degree holders. The colleges are no exception as most of these are being headed by PhD teachers.

A few examples of PhD degree holders serving on administrative posts include Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore Chairman Prof Dr Akram Kashmiri, Additional DPI College Dr Tariq Jaleel, Director Colleges Faisalabad Division Dr Farkhand Shakeel, Dr Asghar Chaudhry, the principal of the Government College of Science Wahdat Road, Dr Zulfiqar Ali Rana, the principal of the Government College for Boys Gulberg and Dr Kaleem Ahmed Sipra, the principal of Government Dyal Singh College and many more.

The stakeholders are of the view that PhD degree holders serving on administrative posts are 'wasting' the resources the government had spent on them in term of provision of opportunities of higher learning. "The situation becomes worse if a foreign qualified teacher is posted against an administrative position," they remark.

A college teacher requesting anonymity said: "Administration is undoubtedly different from teaching and one having administrative responsibilities cannot return to teaching in the true sense." He said besides PhD allowance, one appointed on administrative post also received a lucrative salary package. "In this situation, everyone prefers to be part of administration and avoid his/her real job of teaching and research," he said.

There is also another argument in favour of posting PhD college teacher on administrative posts. A group believes that owing to lack of facilities almost no research work is being done at colleges. "Our colleges are devoid of research culture," remarked another teacher. He, however, said PhD faculty members at colleges could be of great help for students by training them about research. "What is use of PhD degree holders if such people are neither teaching nor engaged in research related activities," he questioned.

Academic circles are of the view that the government should form a policy in this regard so that maximum benefit could be achieved from PhD degree holders.

The Higher Education Commission has declared that Dr Farah Malik of Psychology Department, Government College University (GCU) Lahore would receive the Award for the Best University Teacher of year 2008.

She will be presented a certificate and cash prize of Rs 100,000 on the occasion. GCU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Aftab has commended Dr Farah Malik for achieving the award and has hoped that she would continue enhancing her academic and research activities in the realm of Psychology in future as well. -lachvee@gmail.com (The News)

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AAUR student's murder: Police urged to arrest killers, spare students
Islamabad: Over 100 students of Pir Mehr Ali Shah-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) on Sunday noon staged a protest in front of National Press Club (NPC) to press the government to arrest killers of a BSc student. The protestors were holding up placards inscribed with slogans against the Punjab police, which had tortured them viciously a day before. They shouted slogans against police and the university administration, demanding transfer of Vice Chancellor Dr Khalid.

They said Rawalpindi police on Saturday arrested over 20 students because they protested on Benazir Bhutto Shaheed (BBS) Road to condemn the killing of their fellow student. The police also baton-charged and teargassed them besides firing rubber bullets on them on the pretext of breaking the protest. The students said instead of arresting the killers, the police raided Iqbal Hostel and arrested students from there. They said the students were later released on personal surety but they could not continue their study because of harassment and court proceedings. They demanded that the police must remove the FIR registered against students because they had not committed a crime calling for arrest of killers of a fellow student. They remained peaceful and ended their protest with no tension reported. Daily Times

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Pak students return
Lahore: The 20-member delegation of talented Pakistani students is reaching Lahore on Monday (Today) after completing its study tour of Germany and UK.

Provincial Minister for Local Government Sardar Dost Mohammed Khan Khosa will welcome the delegation on behalf of the Chief Minister Punjab at the Lahore Airport whereas Education Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujar-ur-Rehman besides senior officers of education department and teachers of colleges will be present on the occasion.

The delegation, comprising eleven female and nine male position-holding students of various educational boards of the province visited Heinrich Heins University, Dusseldorf University, RWTH University, Max Planck Institute, Hyde Burg University and Ruhr University of Bochum and the home of Poet of East Allama Iqbal and the street named after him in Germany.

The delegation also attended various lectures in Germany. During its stay in UK, the members of the delegation visited Oxford University which was an informative experience for the students. The students also visited various colleges of Oxford University. They were informed about the historical background of Oxford. They were also informed about various scholarships including Noon and Rhodes Scholarships for Pakistani students at the Oxford University. They also visited Manchester University and Cambridge University besides Queen Mary University, University of Surrey, Space Research Institute and various colleges being run by the universities of international repute. The students also witnessed various phases of research being carried out in the satellite communication department at Space Research Institute. The students visited the House of Lords and called on Lord Nazir Ahmad. Zubair Gul hosted a dinner in honour of the students on behalf of the PML-N.

The students received very useful information during the visit to educational institutions and gained knowledge about the teaching methods of the international standard. The students were also informed about the scholarships being given by various universities.

It may be mentioned that these 20 position-holding students belong to low-paid or middle class segments of the society but they displayed outstanding performance in the examinations by their hardwork. This tour has greatly helped the students in confidence building and broadening their vision. The News

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