Why unemployment | Search for top BISE slots
Why unemployment
June 05: Unemployment is one of the biggest problems of Pakistan.
That person is unemployed who has ability to do work and is willing to do work
but is unable to get such job opportunity. In the current situation more than 30
lakh people are unemployed in Pakistan and unemployment ratio is more than 12%.
i) The biggest reason of unemployment in Pakistan is concerned with the
backwardness of agriculture sector. Agriculture is the biggest sector of our
economy that contributes 20.9% to GDP and 44% people get jobs from this sector
directly or indirectly. Unemployment in this sector is from two sides. First is
due to the adoption of latest machinery and capital intensive technology. Due to
this, demand for labour has been decreased. Second is the backwardness of this
sector, there is less availability of fertilizers, pesticides, quality seeds,
absence of land reforms and lack of agriculture education. Due to all these
factors agriculture sector is not expanding and there is general and disguised
unemployment. ii) Industrial sector is the second largest sector of our economy
which contributes 19% to national income. This sector should employ a large
number of labour. But due to backwardness it is employing a small number of
people. Due to electricity breakdown already established industry is
deteriorating. Resultingly there is prevailing unemployment. iii) High cost and
low quality are responsible for less demand for our Agri. and industrial items.
Because of less demand of such kind of goods both the domestic and international
producers are losing their interest in production. That's why people are
becoming unemployed. iv) In Pakistan education system is defective. There is no
educational planning. This system is producing the stuff, which is useless in
technical fields of the country. There is lack of technical and vocational
institutions. Public attitude towards education is wrong, they want to get their
degree in general and arts subjects. Nobody can set up his own business without
technical education. v) Millions of people in Pakistan are poor. There is
general poverty in the country. Due to poverty people are overburdened with
expenditures and their savings are very low. It is said that for the reasonable
growth of economy saving rate should be at least 25% in any country, but in
Pakistan it is only 13 to 14% which is very low. Low investment level is due to
less savings, ultimately there is unemployment. vi) In Pakistan majority of the
business men is less educated. They do not known how to run their business
properely. So aften they become bankrupt. This factor generates unemployment on
massive level. vii) In our country there is lack of every kind of planning.
There is a huge difference between the demand and supply for labour. There is
absence of such kind of planning to produce doctors, engineers, technical
experts and scientists, etc. according to the needs of different sectors of the
economy. viii) Load shedding of electricity is disturbing every sector of the
economy, especially the industrial sector. Due to less availability and high
rates of basic inputs like electricity, gas and oil, etc. many industries have
been closed. ix) In Pakistan ratio of direct taxes are more than indirect taxes.
Tax evasion is common. Due to less income from the taxes, Govt cannot start
developmental projects. If there is no investment, then from where public would
find jobs. On the other side if Govt takes steps to increase indirect taxes, it
would also affect the investment climate and ultimately employment level. x)
Current international financial crisis is one of the biggest reason of
unemployment in Pakistan and in the whole world. This crisis originated from the
banking sector of US, UK and some European countries. xi) Pakistan's population
growth rate is 1.8% which is highest in the region. Our resources are limited.
Different sectors of economy are unable to provide jobs to the growing
population. So there is unemployment. xii) Fiscal and monetory policies are
responsible for unemployment. In view of fiscal policy, Pakistan has less funds
to invest in job providing projects. Every annual budget shows deficit. Through
monetary policy if Govt increases the rate of interest, it discourages the
investors to get loans. xiii) Political instability, disturbed law and order
situation, army's interference, bomb blasts, terrorism, inconsistent economic
policies, etc. are the factors which are disturbing domestic and foreign
investment. Pakistan investors are taking away their money to Dubai and other
countries of the world. xiv) Due to 9/11 incident, Gulf war and the baseless
allegations of terrorism the image of Pakistan has been affected very badly at
international level. So in current scenario Pakistan has limited job
opportunities in other countries of the world. xv) People's interest to work
only in Govt sector instead of private sector and seasonal firms, industries are
also responsible to create unemployment. xvi) Since 1947, Pakistani rulers got
loans from IMF, World Bank and many other sources. Such loans were not utilized
honestly. Current external debt of Pakistan is more than 50 billion dollars.
Govt has to allocate a big amount for the payment of loans with interest in the
budget. So due to less resources for developmental projects unemployment is on
the rise. Concludingly I would like to suggest that with proper economic
planning, consistent policies of government, better law and order situation,
abolishing energy crisis, sincerity with Pakistan and by adopting the Islamic
economic system we cannot only tackle the issue of unemployment but every
economic problem of our country. -By Shahzad Ahmad, economic_teacher@yahoo.com (F.P report)
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Search on for teachers to fill top BISE slots
Lahore: The Punjab higher education department has initiated a search
process to select college teachers for their posting against top seats in all
the eight education boards in the province. It is learnt that Chief
Minister Shahbaz Sharif had taken strict notice that a number of college
teachers were continuously holding top posts -- chairman, secretary and
controller of examinations – in education boards. The CM had recently
refused to grant extension to Lahore board secretary Haji Muhammad Dogar.
Sources said the chief minister was not happy with the boards'
performance because of their failure to implement the 1998 policy to curb the
booti mafia in the examination system. He had also expressed his displeasure in
this regard at a "booti mafia" meeting in the midst of last month. It is
learnt that the government is getting reports about the character and
personality of various college teachers from sensitive agencies for their
inclusion in panels and consequent selection by the competent authority.
Sources said several college teachers were holding posts in education
boards for more than their three-year tenures. It is learnt that
Rawalpindi board secretary Humayun Iqbal has been serving the board for the last
over seven years. He served a full three-year term as secretary and then served
second term as controller of examinations, and has now been again serving as
board secretary for over a year. Gujranwala board chairman Chaudhry
Akram has served as controller of examinations at Bahawalpur and Lahore boards.
He also served as deputy secretary (academic) and additional secretary
(academic), and has now been holding the Gujranwala board chairman office for
almost two years. Multan boards' controller of examinations Chaudhry
Asghar has completed his three-year tenure as controller of examinations, and is
now working on "till further orders". He had also served the Multan board as
secretary for a full three-year term before assuming the CE assignment.Multan
board secretary Muhammad Husain Azad has completed his tenure as secretary and
is working on "till further orders". DG Khan board chairman Mahr Bashir
Ahmad and Bahawalpur board chairperson Bilqees Akram have completed their
tenures and have now entered in the fifth year of their service.
Faisalabad board secretary Zafar Iqbal is serving as controller of
examinations despite being an employee of the board. He is serving against
deputation post. On the other hand, the Faisalabad and Rawalpindi
boards' chairmen seats are lying vacant and the board secretary and a college
principal are holding the charge, respectively. Similarly, the seat of
Lahore board secretary has not been filled on a regular basis because additional
charge has been given to Nasir Jamil Anjum. As the government is all out
to bring new officials against the boards' top slots, various officials believe
that this exercise will do more damage than good. They say incumbent
officials have gained a lot of experience and that must not be wasted.
They claim the appointment of new officials has already resulted in the
leakage of question-papers. They suggest that the government should shuffle the
officials in various boards to ensure that they do not make groups. They
also propose shuffling of boards' employees, who actually do make groups and
even exploit the top officials. Dawn
Secy Edu punished for favouring ex-Secy BISE
Lahore: Secretary Higher Education, Azhar Hussain Shamim was made OSD on
Wednesday but why he has been meted out such a treatment is a question that
remained on the tip of every tongue in the Punjab Civil Secretariat. There
was strong perception in the secretariat that Azhar Shamim has to face such
circumstances for bracketing himself with an officer of Board of Intermediate
and Secondary Education, Haji Muhammad Dogar about whom Chief Minister Punjab
had not a good opinion. Sources claimed that when CM announced to send the
BISE position holder students delegation to visit UK and Germany, the CM
directed the Secretary to manage the tour. But Azhar Shamim first
recommended Chairman Board, Muhammad Akram Kashmiri to head the student
delegation and later presented name of Haji Muhammad Dogar. It is worth
mentioning that as per reports of agencies Haji Dogar does not enjoy good
reputation in the education circles for his alleged involvement in financial
irregularities in the BISE. Sources in Punjab Civil Secretariat revealed
that Haji Muhammad Dogar managed to initiate a summary for CM Punjab from
Secretary Higher Education office for his extension in service prior to two
months of his retirement by giving impression to the secretary that he was in
good books of the CM. But Punjab CM expressed his displeasure over the
recommendation and Shahbaz not only rejected the summary but also removed Haji
Dogar from the slot and ultimately transferred Azhar Hussain from his office.
Another reason for the transfer of Azhar being discussed among the education
circles is that Azhar could not serve the project of Chief Minister Punjab
against 'Booty Mafia' especially in case of former MNA Haji Pervez wherein Chief
Minister recommended action against responsible but the Secretary did not pay
any heed towards the issue. Differences of Azhar with Chief Librarian of Punjab
Public Library was also one of the reasons for transfer. However an officer of
the S&GAD said the day when Azhar was made OSD, he was also promoted in next
grade. The Nation
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KEMU students protest exam irregularities
Lahore: Students of King Edward Medical University (KEMU), under the
banner of the Students Action Committee (SAC), staged a protest rally and a
sit-in on Thursday while observing a complete boycott of classes against alleged
irregularities in the examination system of the varsity. Hundreds of
Kemcolian students, led by SAC chairman Qazi Yasir and representatives including
Tariq Saif, Kamran, Hafiz Amer, Tayyab Mahboob, Tayyaba, Ghazala, Naureen and
Huma, marched in a protest rally on The Mall which commenced from the varsity
gate at Neela Gumbad and culminated at Punjab Assembly to protest against the
alleged anomalies in the examination system of KEMU thus favouring the sons and
daughters of professors and influential personalities and victimizing the
students of poor families. The rally caused worst traffic mess in the sizzling
hot weather. Besides, the ambulances and private transport, carrying patients,
also got stuck in the traffic clog, causing suffering to the patients due to
long delay in their transportation to the Mayo Hospital. The students
were carrying banners and placards inscribed with their demands and slogans
against KEMU administration and examination branch for allegedly victimizing the
students belonging to common families and favouring those students who were sons
and daughters of professors and other influential personalities. They
staged a sit-in in front of Assembly Hall to press the government and KEMU
administration to fulfill their demands to rectify KEMU's examination
department's inefficiency and failing several students in papers of Forensic
Medicine and Pharmacology which resulted in wastage of a precious academic year
of 10 students of second professional year. They alleged that the
students of KEMU were most brilliant who fulfilled the highest merit in Punjab
province but all the top positions and medals were meant for the children of
professors which was evident from the example of a former Vice Chancellor of
KEMU whose son had achieved 11 gold medals. They further alleged that
central checking of the university's examination system was a mere claim, and
claimed that the papers were checked according to their own convenience.
They said that they had met with the KEMU Vice Chancellor the other day
and presented their demand to conduct re-checking of papers of the affected
students by appointing assessor of examination or neutral examiner. They
demanded to remove the faults of the examination department and compensate the
affected students by reassessing their papers. Meanwhile, a delegation
of young Kemcolians met with Governor's secretary Tariq Shahzad in Governors'
House and also met with a deputy secretary in Chief Minister's Secretariat and
apprised them of their problems and presented their demands for early
fulfillment to save the careers of the affected students. According to
them, the CM Secretariat has also sought a reply from the KEMU Vice Chancellor
till June 20 on this issue of alleged irregularities in examination system.
Meanwhile, King Edward Medical University (KEMU), Lahore, Registrar Prof
Dr Mahmood Shaukat stated that the university conducted all examinations
according to the laid down rules and secrecy. He said that all questions
were assigned fictitious roll numbers and the internal and external examiners
evaluated the candidates independently. "All results are handled by the
Tabulation and Secrecy Branch," he said and added that the results only were
seen on the day of declaration by the Vice Chancellor, Controller and Registrar.
He said the Punjab government rightly did not allow any grace marks in
any professional examinations, as it was tantamount to lowering the standard.
"Any such practice if carried out would lead to instant de-recognition of
degrees and loss of credibility built gradually over decades. This will
adversely and irrevocably affect the impression of our education board," he
maintained. The News
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Wants activists restored: IJT threatens to disrupt UAF exams
Faisalabad: The University of Agriculture Faisalabad chapter of the
Islami Jamiat-i-Tulba (IJT) on Thursday threatened the varsity administration
that it would disrupt the on-going semester examination, besides launching a
protest drive, if its seven expelled student activists were not restored
immediately. On April 6 this year, seven IJT activists were expelled by
the UAF administration for holding a 'New Year night' event on Dec 31, 2008,
featuring Qiraat and Na'at programme in a mosque on varsity premises without its
permission, using loudspeaker and 'threatening' and 'maligning' the varsity
authorities. On the recommendation of a Disciplinary Action Committee
(DAC), the varsity had expelled UAF IJT Nazim Sajid Ali for two years, Tahir
Mehmood of MSc (Agronomy), Abdul Rafey Raziq and Mohammad Shoaib of BSc Agri
Resources Economics, Hafiz Arslan Anwar of BSc Agriculture, Mohammad Salim of
DVM and Mohammad Shafqat for one year. Each of the expelled student, except
Sajid Ali, were slapped Rs10,000 fine by the committee. The IJT
challenged the expulsions in the Lahore High Court, but later withdrew the
petition. Both sides held a series of meetings to resolve the issue but
failed to do so because of trust deficit. The last such meeting was held
on June 1 where Dr Faqir Anjum, representing the university, assured the
students that their fellows would be restored soon, an affected student said,
adding the UAF administration had done nothing in this regard so far.
Sajid Ali said the varsity administration had asked the IJT to withdraw
the petition from the high court as a goodwill gesture, but despite doing so the
students were not restored which would deprive them of their 'right' to appear
in the semester examination which had already begun from June 4. He said
now the IJT had decided to launch a movement against the administration and
disrupt the semester examination to protest against the 'injustice'. UAF
acting vice-chancellor Dr Iftikhar Ahmed said the expelled students violated the
varsity rules by indulging in unlawful activities and politics. He said the
students were expelled following a set disciplinary procedure and their cases
were decided by proper forums. He said starting agitation was not the
proper way to get relief. Dawn
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Degrees of 5 MPAs challenged
Lahore: A Ctitizen Rabiya Ashraf has challenged the qualification of five
MPAs of PML-N, Raheela Khadim Hussain, Saima Mahiyuddin, Mehmooda Sahi, Farrah
Deeba and Shagufta Sheikh, alleging that they had submitted fake degrees before
the election commission. The petitioner contended that the respondents
were elected MPAs on reserved seats on PML-N tickets. They had submitted fake
degrees before the election commission. She, therefore, prayed to the
court to declare the respondents disqualified from being members provincial
assembly. She also prayed to the court to restrain the respondents from
joining the assembly session until the disposal of her petition. The News
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PU donate Rs 10m for IDPs
Lahore: Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid
Kamran chaired a meeting, on Wednesday, in the Seminar Hall of Centre of
Undergraduate Studies in which in which PU Medical Relief Camp Swabi Incharge
Prof Dr Haris Rasheed briefed the meeting about the relief activities. It was
unanimously decided that all the departments will contribute in the relief fund
from their self supporting programs. On the occasion different heads of the
departments announced donations to contribute in the relief fund. Director IBA
Prof Dr Muhammad Ehsan Malik announce Rs 3 million, Principal College of
Pharmacy Prof Dr Muhammad Jamshaid announce 2.5 million, College of Earth and
Environmental Sciences Principal Prof Dr Iftikhar Baloch announce 5 lakh,
Geography Department Chairperson announce 2 lakh 80 thousand, Principal College
of Statistics and Actorial Sciences Dr Shahid Kamal announce 5 lakh, Director
ICS announce 5 lakh 22 thousand and PUCIT Principal announced 3.5 million from
the self support funds of PUCIT and IBIT and 1.5 lakh on behalf of his family
for the welfare of the displaced peoples of affected areas. Speaking on the
occasion, Vice-Chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran invited suggestions from the
participants about the improvement of facilities at the camp. He said people
have been donating funds generously in the PU relief camps. He issued order to
constitute a committee to ensure transparency in the utilization of these funds.
He also asked the heads of departments to motivate students to collect funds for
the IDPs. Centre for High Energy Physics (CHEP) Director Prof Dr Khwaja Haris
Rasheed, who is also Incharge of relief team, briefed the participants about the
relief activities being provided to Swat affectees at PU medical relief camp
established at Shah Mansoor, Swabi. He told the participants that the medical
team was providing treatment to 500 patients daily. He said PU medical relief
camp was the only where lady doctors were also present. He said NWFP Health
Secretary had visited PU relief camp twice and appreciated the relief activities
being provided to the IDPs. A suggestion was made that a team of IER should send
in the affected areas to provide education facilities to the displaced children. F.P report
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GCU sends goods for IDPs
The welfare society of the Government College University Lahore dispatched a truck carrying 400 packets of relief
goods for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of NWFP. The relief goods
including pulses, dry milk, biscuits, rusk, flour, soap, toothpaste and
necessary edible and items for minors were handed over to the DCO Lahore to
handing over the consignment to authorities concerned. The society took the
initiative following to special directives by Vice-Chancellor Dr Khalid Aftab
and collected goods and funds from the students of GC University Lahore after a
week-long campaign. During the drive, the students responded positively and
contributed for the people now living as refugees in their own
country. Vice-Chancellor GC University Lahore Dr Khalid Aftab appreciated the
efforts of Advisor Prof Khalid Manzoor Butt and members of the welfare society
on their successful fund-raising campaign. The Nation
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