Punjab University BCom paper re-examination

PU to hold re-examination of BCom paper
Lahore, June 29: Punjab University will hold re-examination of Advance Accounting paper of BCom tomorrow (June 30) at 9:00 am at its examination center under the same roll numbers in which the students appeared in the annual examination conducted on June 11.

The PU has given two options to BCom Part-II students in Advance Financial Accounting paper.

Either the students should avail 25 grace marks or re-appear in the said paper on said date.

All the candidates can opt any one of the two options given to them.

However, grace marks will be awarded automatically to those students who are not willing to appear in the said paper again.

Post your comments

DSS to eliminate double-standard in edu system
Lahore: Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Mashhood has said that Pakistan is facing the dilemma of double standards in education system but Chief Minister Punjab has initiated work on the Danish School System (DSS) to eliminate these standards, which will provide equal education opportunities to the children belonging to poor strata of the society.

He expressed these views while talking to a five-member delegation of the US at Punjab Assembly Secretariat on Monday.

Members of the US delegation included Fatima Samar, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Zahir Shah, Political Advisor US Consulate, Sajjad Mughal, USAID Development Specialist, Deputy Health Officer USAID Islamabad and USAID Officer in Punjab.

Rana Mashhood said that gulf between the rich and the poor regarding education system was increasing as the poor students were unable to get admitted in the institutions like LUMS, Atchison and LGS owing to financial constraints.

He said that the only reason for no-entry of the poor students in the stated institutions was that their parents lack financial resources to send their children to the education centres of the rich.

He said that no country could progress without providing good education opportunities to its youth belonging to all classes.

The Deputy Speaker said that Danish School System was meant for the poor students and the entry of the rich would be banned in this school system.

The facilities of education and boarding would be provided free of cost to the poor in the stated school system and the students of these schools would also be provided fare to visit their homes, he maintained.

About the increasing terrorism in the country, he said that the terrorists were damaging the peace and security of the country but their number was very marginal.

However, security forces of our country with the support of the masses were fighting the terrorist elements to foil their evil designs. The nation

Post your comments

Teachers protest autonomy to colleges
Lahore: A large number of college teachers staged a demonstration on Monday, protesting against the government's move of granting autonomy to 26 public colleges in the province.

The demo was held at Faisal Chowk near the Punjab Assembly in which representatives of the Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association (PPLA) and Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) also participated and expressed resentment against the move.

The protestors blocked The Mall for quite some time and chanted slogans against the government, terming the move a bid to privatise the government colleges. They demanded the government revert its decision.

On the other hand, addressing a press conference, Punjab Higher Education Secretary Ahad Khan Cheema said the constitution of Board of Governors in 26 colleges of Punjab was not privatisation because colleges would remain under the government control and the BoG would only run these colleges.

"This is not privatisation but only relegation of powers," he said, adding that colleges, to be managed by Board of Governors from September, would not increase any fee structure, as additional expenditures would be borne by the Punjab government which would provide Rs 500 million additional grant to these colleges annually for providing quality education to students.

Ahad Khan Cheema said present fee structure would remain unchanged as every college would get a grant of Rs 20 million annually. These colleges would revamp their course outline according to the marketing needs and requirements and students would also be trained in the IT to equip themselves with the changing requirements of the modern world, he maintained.

The Higher Education secretary further said that all the necessary requirements, including modern IT labs, science laboratories, libraries and human resource would be met and these colleges would be issued degrees by the universities to which they would be affiliated. He said four of the proposed autonomous colleges out of six from Lahore would be affiliated with the Punjab University and one each with the Government College University (GCU) and the Lahore College for Women University (LCWU).

Cheema said the educational standard of the colleges would be equal to that of a university and students would be the ultimate beneficiaries.Explaining various problems being faced by the college sector in the province, he said the department was facing administrative as well as financial compulsions besides the lack of staff, which sometimes hindered the provision of quality education. He said at times, the education department was facing shortage of teachers which spiralled from 4,000 to 4,700, adding that keeping in view these problems, it had been decided to grant necessary financial and administrative autonomy to selected 26 colleges in the province so that they could resolve their routine issues on their own.

The secretary said the government would provide Rs 250 million under developmental head and Rs 250 million under non-developmental head in the ADP to give the colleges necessary financial strength. This would totally cost Rs 500 million, he added.

Ahad Cheema further said that the proposed BoGs would comprise of 12 to 13 members, including six officials and chosen members from local philanthropists, industrialists, social workers and educationists. The principal of each college would be appointed by the government in consultation with the BoG concerned, he maintained, adding that the terms and conditions of the staff would remain the same; however, the internal accountability process would help improve the college working. He said only the seats, not available in the cadre, would be filled by the BoG.

Cheema said that since 2005, the Higher Education Commission had introduced four years bachelor programs in the universities which had created a difference between the level of degrees of the colleges and universities.

He said that to bridge the gap between the universities and colleges, the Punjab government had decided to start four years bachelor program in the 26 colleges. He said the universities were not ready to start four years program in the colleges because they said that the colleges did not have infrastructure and proper trained staff and laboratories, but we negotiated with them and convinced them to start four years degree in the colleges. He admitted that there were some shortcomings in the semester system but now this system was recognized all over the world. He said that purpose of the recent move of the government was to bring the level of degree of these colleges equivalent to the level of the universities.

Post your comments

CIMA to open office in Lahore
Lahore: The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) on Monday announced opening of its second office in Pakistan.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Lahore Press Club, CIMA Regional Director for South Asia and Middle East Bradley Emerson, Regional Manager Business Development and Communication Radley Stephen and Javaria Hassan from the CIMA Pakistan said the new office in Lahore would be opened on Tuesday (today).

They said that following the launch of Karachi office in April 2009 the Lahore office of the CIMA was being opened in response to the increasing demand for international finance professionals throughout the region.

Bradley Emerson said, "With the kind of demographic distribution in Pakistan where 50 percent of the population is under the age of 20, we are convinced that Pakistan would be a source of talent for the future of economic development globally."

He said the present CIMA curriculum was developed through research involving top professionals from leading businesses globally which fit to fulfil the needs of the future labour market.

"Opening the Lahore office is yet another initiative by CIMA to provide the youth of Pakistan with knowledge and skills to make them globally competitive," he added. Bradley Emerson said, "The Lahore office would also allow us to offer even greater support to our existing members, students and tuition providers who are rapidly growing in Pakistan."

The speakers said, "As a leading global professional institute, CIMA offered an internationally recognised qualification in management accountancy and had seen 23 percent membership growth over the last five years.

The CIMA qualification equips members to work anywhere in the world. It is the only international professional accountancy qualification with a syllabus that has a sole focus on the education and training of business leaders." They said globally 70 percent of CIMA members were employed by the organisations with an annual turnover of 50 million pound or more.

They said the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, founded in 1919, was the world's leading and largest professional body of management accountants with 172,000 members and students operating in 165 countries, working at the heart of business.

Post your comments

Thousands attend The News Education Expo
Lahore: The mega educational event of the provincial metropolis, The News Education Expo 10, was held on Monday and it attracted thousands of visitors particularly prospective students.

Dozens of universities from private and public sector, education consultants, boarding schools and foreign institutes and examination bodies participated in the one-day expo. The event proved a great help to the visitors especially students who explored academic opportunities in the wake of upcoming academic session.

Terming the arrangements excellent and appreciating the Jang Group for organising the education expo over the years, most of the visitors were of the view that such events should continue for at least two days.

Talking to The News, a number of students said the expo was a good initiative and a great help for them for seeking information regarding courses offered by public and private sector universities, fee structure and admission-related matters.

A student, Faisal, said the education expo helped him a lot by giving a comparison of academic courses being offered by different universities as well as the fee structure. "This is a good initiative especially when seen in connection with approaching academic session," he said.

Sidra, another visitor, said the event housing dozens of universities under one roof facilitated the students a lot as they needed not go to university to university and seek information. "Its true information is also available on websites of the universities," she said while replying to a question, adding, "However, such an event provides an opportunity to get answers of many unanswered questions."

The representatives of different participating institutes also lauded the arrangements and expressed satisfaction with the overwhelming response they received. Mustafa Hasnain, Director Creative Village of the University of Lahore, said the event proved a great excitement as visitors showed keen interest in academic programmes offered by the participating universities.

University of Gujrat's Additional Registrar Sheikh Abdul Rashid said the expo also provided an opportunity to universities to introduce themselves and the innovative programmes they were offering. He said it was a positive initiative and need of the hour.

Minhaj University's Admission Officer Ahmed Salman Anwar said the response was beyond expectations, adding that every university from private and public sector should participate in such expos to reach out to more and more students. Director Academics and Admissions of the University of South Asia (USA) Nadeem Farooqi said the response was good, adding that it was good to know students' valid questions regarding recognition of universities.

Abid Ishaq, Edexcel's Regional Development Manager for Pakistan, said the turnout was great and added that students were well aware of foreign qualifications being offered in Pakistan. He was also of the view that such events should be organised on a regular basis.

Dozens of students were also accompanied by their parents who took keen interest in the event and explored maximum opportunities to choose the institute of their choice.

The University of South Asia, Preston University and National Institute of Health & Social Sciences were the platinum sponsors of The News Education Expo 10 while the University of Management Technology, Superior Group of Colleges, ICMAP, Edexcel, NCUK, KIPS College, Riphah International University, COMSATS and ATS Training Institute were among the gold sponsors.

The other participating institutes included SKANS School of Accountancy, College of Accountancy & Professional Studies, Pak AIMS, UET Lahore's Institute of Business & Management, Textile Institute of Pakistan, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, The Hub School, FC College University, Institute of Business and Finance, Pakistan Institute of Fashion & Design, CFE Group of Colleges, American Heritage University, Professionals Academy of Commerce, Falcon Education & Consultancy Services (Pvt) Ltd and HR Consultants (Pvt) Ltd.

Post your comments

GCU to develop database for PHATA
Lahore: Students of the Government College University's geography department will digitalise manual maps and develop a database for the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA) by applying modern techniques of the digital cartography.

In this regard, GCU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Aftab and PHATA Director-General Rashid Manzoor signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday.

The GCU will organise workshops for the officials and experts of PHATA to train them about the latest tools and technologies of Geographic Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing, Global Positioning System (GPS), Total Station and Automatic level.

The PHATA will provide internship opportunities and research projects to the students of GCU geography department.

CERIFICATES: University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz on Monday distributed certificates among successful veterinary officers of the Brook Pakistan.

The UVAS had organised a six-day training course tilted "Training of Trainers" (TOT) to help the Brook Pakistan build capacity of its staff members as well as community-based animal health workers (CBAHWs) with special focus to improve equine welfare in Pakistan. The Brooke Pakistan is a UK-based organisation striving for healthy working animals at the global level.

The TOT training covered capacity building of trainers to conduct orientation/induction trainings, CBAHWs trainings and all other tailor-made trainings for the Brook Pakistan staff at all levels.

Later, Dr Nawaz along with Institute of Continuing Education and Extension director Dr Salahuddin distributed certificates among the successful course participants.

Post your comments

Pak students visit Berlin Technical University
Lahore: The position-holder students of Punjab, who are in Germany as part of their study tour of Europe on the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, visited Technical University Berlin.

According to a DGPR handout issued here on Monday, the first secretary from the Pakistan embassy, Dr Zafar, gave them a warm welcome. They were taken to the Main Hall where Lin, in charge of the academic collaboration, briefed the students about the university. She informed that it was the biggest technical institute in Germany with seven faculties and around 30,000 students, of whom 19 percent come from other countries.

Security, knowledge and management, information and communication, water, energy, health and nutrition and human habitat design are some of specialized fields taught in the university. The students were further informed that there were 320 professors, 396 visiting professors, 2,246 scientific staff, and 43,790 employees in the university. Students were also shown the library which was spacious with seven floors, 2.4 million books and thousands of e-journals. Automatic Transportation System for books attracted the attention of students.

Later, the student delegation attended a reception given by Shahid Kamal, the ambassador of Pakistan in Germany. The students also exchanged ideas with Pakistani PhD scholars in Germany.

The ambassador appreciated the Punjab Chief Ministerís initiative of sending top position holders to leading universities of European countries with a view to securing admission in foreign universities. After the reception, the delegation boarded the Inter Continental Europe Train and left for Frankfurt. The news

Post your comments