Quaid-i-Azam University without syndicate
QAU without syndicate for last one year
Islamabad, June 16: The Academic Staff Association (ASA) of Quaid-i-Azam University
(QAU) has resented the delay in the formulation of the syndicate. The QAU
sent a panel of experts several months ago to President Asif Ali Zardari, who is
also chancellor of the university, to nominate syndicate members under various
categories. The list is still not being approved and notified by the presidency
and the end result is that QAU is without a syndicate for almost a
year. A large number of cases have piled up for want of syndicate
approval. The most harmful effect is on inducting new faculty already
recommended by selection boards which could not be issued appointment letters
for want of requisite syndicate approval. The ASA said that some of the selected
candidates either joined other institutions or left the country. Several
departments are in crisis and face difficulty in running their teaching
programmes, which were planned on the assumption that the selected candidate
will be available for taking up their duties in time as per past
practice. Similarly, several important decisions of the Academic Council
regarding new teaching programmes, new courses and admission criteria, including
the twice rejected and controversial International GRE, are also pending due to
absence of syndicate. A large number of PhD candidates were denied the
right to hold PhD title because of the GRE condition despite the fact that their
theses have were adjudged satisfactory by foreign experts but the ASRB was not
allowing the students to appear in oral defence. No PhD student has been
admitted to the university in the past six months because of the GRE
condition. It may be mentioned that the Higher Education Commission,
which is trying to bulldoze the GRE condition upon universities, sent its
students on HEC scholarships to the US and Europe without asking them to appear
in any GRE, which is a mechanism developed by the USA. The ASA, through
a press release, expressed its concern that salaries of teachers under the
Tenure Track System were not increased, while the BPS faculty was given 50 per
cent increase. The ASA feared that public sector universities would lose them if
TTS salaries were not periodically adjusted upward in line with the inflation
rate. The news
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Rs13.32m foreign scholarships: Officers not ready to pay back
Islamabad: The government squandered Rs13.32 million on eight public
servants, who were sent abroad for higher studies but failed to complete their
intended degree programmes. According to the information placed before
the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly on Tuesday, the
government deputed a number of officers for long-term foreign studies and
trainings under the public-sector capacity building project during 2007-08.
Under the policy approved by the project's national steering committee,
such officers were required to submit their degrees in token of successful
completion and also serve the government for at least five years. In case of not
fulfilling the aforesaid conditions, the full training cost was required to be
recovered from the officers concerned. The PAC in its meeting here at
the Parliament House took up accounts of the Establishment Division for the
audit year 2008-09. During the audit of the Civil Services Reforms Unit
(CSRU), Establishment Division, it was pointed out that officers of various
departments either did not submit their degrees on return from training abroad
or resigned before completing the required five-year service. Nawaz
Cheema, an officer of secretariat group in BPS-21, proceeded to the United
Kingdom and a sum of Rs3.05 million was spent on his studies and other expenses,
but he failed to successfully complete his studies. Mr Hafeez, a BPS-18
officer of the District Management Group, went to Australia for study purposes,
but came back within few months after consuming Rs109,655. Syed Hamid
Ali, a customs officer, spent Rs291,500 on a degree course, but without any
result. Samina Qureshi, an assistant professor in Karachi University's
mass communication department, took Rs1.98 million for study purpose, but is yet
to submit her degree. Abbas Khan, an officer of the Office Management
Group, consumed Rs2.17 million, but failed to produce any result.
Khushdil Khan, a deputy secretary of the Human Rights Division, has
taken Rs1.9 million for a degree programme, but to no avail. Khalid Khan
of the income tax group went to Britain for studies at a cost of Rs1.897
million, but didn't come back. Nasruminallah Mian, another officer of the income
tax department, went to Australia for studies at a cost of Rs1.8 million,
however, soon after his return he resigned from his job. According to
the audit brief, Hamid Ali and Mr Hafeez have cleared their outstanding dues,
hence, their cases were recommended for settlement by the PAC. When
inquired, the Establishment Division authorities informed the committee that the
officers in question had agreed to give the money back within six months in four
instalments. On this the committee recommended that each and every penny
spent on public servants should be retrieved, otherwise, they should be taken to
the task as per rules. Dawn
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PMDC Assistant Registrar arrested
Islamabad: Punjab anti-corruption police have arrested Pakistan Medical and
Dental Council's Assistant Registrar Muhammad Bashir and shifted him to
Rawalpindi. According to reliable sour-ces, Bashir was arrested from PMDA
office two days ago for illegal registration and he would be presented before
Anti-Corruption Court soon on charges of corruption and violating merit in
filing vacancies. When contacted, PMDC Registrar Nadeem Akbar confirmed
arrest of Bashir but said he would be released soon. Bashir was accused of
registering an Afghan national illegally in 2003. To a question, he said no
student would be registered without checking his eligibility and added that he
had issued orders in this regard. He maintained that verification process is
difficult and it takes 6-7 months but no doctor would be registered wrongly. He
said that he would bring facts before the media soon and expected that Bashir
would be released. The nation
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LHC summons PML-N MPA in fake degree case
Rawalpindi: Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench on Tuesday directed MPA and
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) local leader Malik Yasir Raza to appear in
the court on Wednesday (today) in a case regarding the authenticity of his
educational certificates. LHC Judge Justice Khawaja Imtiaz also issued
orders to make the documents presented by Al-Khair University (AKU) and Global
Foundation College (GFC) as part of official record of the case. On
Tuesday AKU and GFC presented their record in the court in which GFC declared
that the MPA was their previous student whereas AKU, AJK announced that detailed
mark sheet was issued to him in 2007. The court asked Sardar Abdul Raziq
Khan, counsel for the MPA for the reason why his client was absent in spite of
being summoned in the court again and again. Khan told the court that the MPA
could not appear on Tuesday due to his engagement in the Punjab Assembly budget
session. However, he assured the court that his client would appear in the court
on next call. LHC postponed the hearing till June 16 (today). It
is pertinent to mention here ex-MPA Ishtiaq Ahmed Mirza, from PPP, who contested
general elections against Kan has challenged that MPA possesses bogus graduation
degree. Daily times
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Pakistani youth need polishing, says Dr Basit
Islamabad: The youth of our country have tremendous potential and they
could be compared with diamonds that need to be polished, said Preston
University Chancellor Dr. Abdul Basit in an interview on Tuesday. He said, "I firmly believe that proper leadership and care is
required to bring out the best in their personalities." He urged the youth to
keep a positive outlook notwithstanding the current political and economic
situation. Calling on for more educational activities, Dr. Basit said that
events like educational fairs provide the youth a platform from where they can
get satisfactory answers to all their questions. In addition to providing useful
information about the existing opportunities, he said, educational fairs play a
very important role in creating awareness about new academic programmes being
offered by different educational institutions. Dr. Abdul Basit said that
Preston University has recently established an Institute of Nanosciences &
Technology. "Our industries can get tremendous benefit from this technology," he
said adding "This technology will help us compete effectively in the
international market by improving the quality of our products." With the
growth of any industry, Dr. Basit said, job openings in finance, human resource
management and marketing are created. He said that after a brief recession in
the information technology (IT) industry, it is rejuvenating, as its market is
again expanding at both national and international level. "Preston
University was established in 1984, as the first-ever private university in
Pakistan. We have our campuses in all the major cities of Pakistan, as well as
abroad. He added that we emphasise on proper counselling of our students. Our
effective career counselling helps them get jobs within 6-7 months," he
added. Comparing the educational facilities available in the public and
private sector institutions, he said the public sector institutions face no
problem of funding and physical resources while the private universities take
the lead in enjoying more freedom to introduce newer ideas, collaborate with
international institutions and upgrade their curriculum. He said that
the government should provide facilities in research, scholarship, national and
international faculty training and lab facilities to private universities as it
does to the public universities. This will create competition in the education
sector as well as polish the skills of our youth. Dr. Basit further
stressed the need for international collaborations. "We are planning to
collaborate and seek help from Chinese and American institutes in the field of
Nanosciences & technology," he said. China has been a very old and
dependable friend of Pakistan. It is a known fact that they have always helped
us in technology transfer with an open heart and mind, he added. Talking
about the opportunities available to brilliant and deserving students in the
private sector, he said that all major private universities offer merit and
need-based scholarships. "At Preston University we offer 100 merit and 200
need-based scholarships every semester." In his message to the youth of
Pakistan, Dr. Abdul Basit said, "we are passing through a very critical time in
our history. This, however, should not demoralise us and we should continue to
make dedicated endeavours to come out from this critical situation." In
the end, Dr. Abdul Basit appreciated Jang Group's efforts in highlighting the
educational facilities being made accessible to the students in Pakistan,
through Education Expo-2010.
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Students urged to make full use of available resources
Islamabad: Academic institutions only provide tools. It is the
responsibility of students to make the best use of these tools to carve out a
niche for themselves in society, said MNA Farhat Mohammad Khan.
Addressing students at the convocation of Overseas Pakistanis Foundation
Girls College, F-8/2, on Tuesday, he said: "Education is the best asset one can
have and our students are fortunate to be among the literate lot." He
said that previously females were not allowed to go to schools. "But now, it is
heartening to see more and more girls are opting for graduation and
postgraduation programmes. OPF Managing Director Habib-ur-Rehman and the
Balochistan University of Information Technology and Management Sciences
Controller of Examination Professor Munir Ahmed Kakar were present on the
occasion. In the ceremony, 150 students of graduate and postgraduate programmes
of BUITMS (2002-2009) received degrees and medals in eight disciplines -
Bachelor in Business Administration, BS Information Technology, BS in
Telecommunication Engineering, Bachelor in Multimedia (Honours), Master in
Business Administration (one-year and two-year programmes) and BS in Computer
Science. Speaking on the occasion, OPF Girls College (Islamabad)
Principal Shaheena Masood said that this day is the culmination of the hard work
that the students have done in the examinations. "They have sacrificed a lot in
the process, but today the students and their parents are much relieved, as an
important milestone has been achieved," she said. The principal advised
the students to seek a positive attitude towards life and value that what they
have been taught. She also highlighted the achievements of the college.
Balochistan University of Information Technology and Management Sciences
Controller of Examination Professor Munir Ahmed Kakar said that those students
are really lucky who have reached the graduation and postgraduation levels, as
most children are still striving for basic education.
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Medical students protest
Islamabad: Fifteen medical students deported from Cuba staged a protest
demonstration in front of the Parliament House here on Tuesday in favour of
their demands – either to give them admission in Pakistani medical colleges or
send them back to Cuba to complete their studies. The protesters said
Cuban government offered 1,000 scholarships to Pakistani students for medical
study after earthquake on October 8, 2005. About 350 students left for
Cuba after being selected by the Higher Education Comm-ission (HEC) on March
2007. But it was revealed to them after reaching there that they would
become medical technician (para-medical staff) instead of MBBS doctor after
studying there. App
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IHK HR Commission concerned over student's killing by police
Islamabad: The Human Rights Commission in occupied Kashmir has expressed concern over the
recent killing of a student, Tufail Ahmad Matoo by Indian police at Rajouri
Kadal in Srinagar.The Chairperson of Human Rights Commission, Justice
®Bashir-ud Din, talking to the newsmen in Srinagar, urged the occupation
authorities to take stringent action against the policemen involved in the
heinous crime. He
termed the killing of innocent people by Indian police and troops as barbaric
and said "killing of common people cannot be tolerated at any cost. Such
killings are not only grave violations of human rights but also a glaring
example of misuse of powers by the police in the name of maintaining law and
order." Pointing out that in the
recent past many innocent youth were killed on the similar pattern in Srinagar,
he said, most of them were killed after being hit either by teargas canisters or
bullets on their chests or heads. He condemned the use of
brute force by the troopers to quell the peaceful protestors in the occupied
territory. App
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NCA theatre sails through ice and fire
Islamabad: Claire Pamment though British, is no relative of the elder Kipling, who, as
first principal in 1875 of the newly founded Mayo School of Industrial Art, now
the National College of Arts, not only played a formative role in building and
expanding the institution but also saving local arts and crafts from dying as a
result of the glut of machine-made goods from England. Pamment has also been
doing the same thing since taking over charge of the newly launched theatre
department of NCA, which she is trying to build as the country's first
recognised academic discipline in performing arts while trying to save
traditional entertainers like bhands, doms, behroopias, natak and nautanki from
the onslaught of modern mechanised mass amusements. Despite covert
disdain of the high brow cultural officialdom towards this latter business and
their oversensitivity to the menacing snarls of the growing lobby of philistines
that shows in institutional skittishness and tightening of the grip on fund
availability, Pamment has managed to push through her ambitious programmes and
NCA would be opening its four-year degree course this summer with faculty
comprising eminent academics and practitioners from Pakistan and abroad. The
theatre department indeed is a bold and important step for NCA and a leap
forward for the Mayo School of yore. The theatre department started with
Desi Natak, an international conference and performance forum, which brought
families from folk theatre and international academics together for dialogue
that set important precedents for the theatre curriculum, exploring linkages
with world theatre trends through indigenous performance and opening up fresh
avenues for stagecraft. Inputs from scholars like the Bangladeshi academic Jamil
Ahmed on South Asian performance and Islam, on Asian puppetry from the American
Kathy Foley, on reinterpretation of Natyashastra dramaturgies from UK Tara
Theatre's Jatinder Verma, on early Urdu stage from Russia's Anna Suvorova and
local practitioners from all over the country. The NCA's playwriting diploma
that resulted in graduates pursuing internships in Germany was in collaboration
with the International Theatre Institute. Eminent dramatists including Girish
Kanard, Kamal Ahmad Rizvi, Enver Sajjad and Mahesh Elkunchwar among others
mentored the students. Initiatives like 'Open Act' and 'Spotlight' made
the young Rawalpindi campus of NCA a vibrant meeting point of theatre
enthusiasts featuring amateur performances and dialogue with eminent local
artistes. Unfortunately, these evening events, short courses, workshops were
curtailed and had ultimately to be stopped for fear of arousing hostility of the
bigots and creating risky situations. The theatre department has since been
struggling to create some functional space for itself in the confines of
prevailing limitations. There is a way there for grit and tenacity.
Claire Pamment is spending long sultry hours rehearsing her department's
inaugural production of Italian dramatist Dario Fo's Can't Pay, Won't Pay –a
riotous farce, featuring working class women who stage a hilarious bluff to ward
off domestic drudgery and the price hike, duping their blundering men folk and
police in their tracks. Adapted to contemporary Pakistan by Sarmad Sehbai's deft
imaginative pen, the play unfolds the drama of a society in conflict with
itself. Nobel laureate Dario Fo's drama sparkles with the incisive
social criticism that is also typical of our own legendary jesters Nasruddin,
Mulla Dopiaza and Birbal. Pamment thinks Fo is the world's most performed living
playwright, not just because of his themes but his modes of performance, which
celebrate comic defiance of oppression through the liberating power of laughter.
Thanks to the support of Italian embassy in Islamabad, Dario Fo's
protégé, the actor Mario Pirovano, who has worked with the master since 1983 and
earned his admiration as a great story teller, will be in Pakistan holding
workshops, performing dramatic readings from Fo's work and engaging in dialogue
with local actors as part of the theatre event that is scheduled to be staged at
PNCA from July 29. NCA will be staging a curtain raiser for Can't Pay Won't Pay
on July 3. Dawn
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