Universities self-finance scheme buried
Self-finance scheme buried for now: Universities told to rationalise expenditure
Lahore: The Punjab higher education secretary has directed
public sector universities to rationalise their expenditure and not
even consider re-launch of self-finance scheme because it is a
violation of merit. Higher Education Secretary Ahad Khan
Cheema has, however, hinted at the option of increasing fee in public
sector universities in the wake of cut in the budgetary allocation for
the Higher Education Commission. He asked the University of Engineering
and Technology, Lahore, vice-chancellor to work out at funds required
to the universities. The higher education secretary issued
these instructions to the vice-chancellors of public sector
universities at the second meeting of the Punjab Higher Education
Council on June 22. Earlier, UET Lahore VC Muhammad Akram Khan
said that admissions under self-finance scheme or any similar scheme
should be discontinued. He said the self-supporting programme might be
allowed and students enrolled on SFS basis might be allowed to complete
their studies. University of Sargodha Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr
Muhammad Akram suggested that tuition fee for market-based subjects
should be revised and income generation schemes should be introduced. Dawn
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Education boards increase services fee
Lahore: All the eight education boards of the province have increased
fees for different services like issuance of duplicate certificate and
correction of name. The chairman of a Board of Intermediate
& Secondary Education (BISE) said on condition of
anonymity, that the decision to this effect was taken in recent meeting
of the Punjab Board Committee of Chairman (PBCC). He said the
increase was inevitable owing to the financial deficit being faced by
the abolition of registration fee of the government students by the
chief minister, increase in remuneration of examination staff and the
most recent increase in salaries and pensions of the government
employees. The official said no increase was made in registration fee, adding that each board would notify the revised fee structure soon. He said that at present, fee of duplicate certificate, change of name, some other forms, etc, had been increased. All
Pakistan Private Schools Welfare Association (APPSWA) president Syed
Zulqarnain Shah claimed that earlier the boards of intermediate &
secondary education (BISEs) did not collect separate fee for issuance
of certificate to students but now a fee of Rs 100 had been fixed for
this purpose. He criticized the collection of inspection fee by
the boards without even visiting the affiliated schools. He said the
government should not put the burden on the poor people, adding that if
the CM had waived off registration fee of the government schools
students, the boards should be provided funds. The news
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KEMU to hold special convocation
Lahore: Governor Punjab Salman Taseer has asked King Edward Medical
University (KEMU) administration to hold special Convocation for the
medical graduates of 1998 to 2006 in October 2010. A doctor said
seeking anonymity that in the convocation more than 2,000 old graduates
would be awarded medals, awards and degrees for their achievements. An
advertisement in this regard would be published in all leading
newspapers by July 15 next month after which registration of the
graduates would commence. Punjab University administration has also
been asked to facilitate the KEMU in this regard. 150 gold medal
winners from 1998 to 2003 would also receive their medals in this
convocation. It is worth mentioning here that through 150 years of
history of the varsity only 16 convocations were held to ward degrees
and medals to the students. The nation
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Schools and mindset
The root cause of militancy has become a pressing issue in our society.
In many places – roadside tea shops, cafes, offices and government
buildings – debate rages on about how it has arisen and assumed such
menacing proportions. The growth of madressahs has been repeatedly
cited as a key factor in this. But is this really the case? The
Brookings Institute in Washington has raised doubts. In a new report it
has pointed out that less than ten per cent of Pakistani parents send
their children to seminaries and the institutions are probably not
instrumental in fuelling militancy. The report, however, also points to
the terrible state of mainstream schooling in the public sector and
calls for reform. This is indeed an essential requirement for more
reasons than one. The decline in the quality of government-run schools
has been a key factor both in the drop-out rate, which stands at over
50 per cent for the first five years of learning, and in the resort to
madressahs. The food and shelter offered by these institutions offer a
further incentive for poverty-stricken parents. There is a need to put
everything into perspective. Poor mainstream schooling denies people
opportunity. This in turn creates the frustration that so often pushes
them towards militancy. The answer to militancy then lies, at least in
part, in ensuring access to quality learning. That, however, is
just one part of the equation. Through madressahs, and also through
narrow curriculums offered at regular schools, we have created a
mindset that lends itself to militancy. The problem exists everywhere
and has grown over the decades. We need to find ways to counter it. At
the same time we must also re-think schooling as a means to enhance the
lives of people. This at present is not the case. Only when a holistic
approach is adopted can there be any realistic hope of defeating
militancy. It is obvious that terrorism presents an immense threat to
the well-being of our country, even to its future survival. We must
therefore think carefully and at some length about why it has grown
such deep roots in our soil. More important still is the need to pluck
its roots out from the base. The means to do so will need to be
multi-pronged, addressing the many factors that give rise to militancy
and drive it on across our country. The news
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BS (Honours) Programme
Lahore: University of Gujrat Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nizamuddin told
council members that the sub-committee recommended that 26 selected
colleges should be affiliated with their nearest universities where
such programmes were already under way. These universities would
exercise academic control of the BS (Honours) Programme in their
affiliated colleges and provide academic, training and curriculum
resources to their affiliated colleges. The universities would be
responsible for enriching the curriculum on the basis of research and
new knowledge. These universities would conduct annual examinations of
students admitted to the four-year BS (Honours) Programme after the
conclusion of two semesters for four years. The examinations
conducted by the four-year degree programme faculty would carry 40 per
cent weightage, while the annual examinations conducted by the
universities after two semesters would carry 60 per cent weightage.
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Teachers' Training
University of Education Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Munawar S
Mirza suggested that college teachers' training should be conducted by
willing institutions/universities and the participants should be given
pre and post-training tests to measure the effectiveness of the
training. The higher education secretary asked the
participants for resource sharing for effective implementation of
teachers training programme.
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PhD for teachers
The council
discussed opportunities for college teachers to acquire doctorate
degrees without leaving their jobs. The higher education secretary told
the meeting that the higher education department had some 12,000
faculty members and those interested in doing PhD sought study leave. Punjab
University Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Jamil Anwar said PhD was a
four-year programme and college teachers might join during summer
vacation and continue working at their colleges with the consent of
their supervisors. University of Education VC Prof Mirza
suggested that PhD candidates must be spared for two-semester course
work in M.Phil and one semester course work in PhD. Education
Secretary Cheema formed a four-member committee headed by Bahauddin
Zakariya University VC Prof Dr Zafarullah to submit proposals on PhD
course work during summer and winter vacation or in the evening. Three
committee members are vice-chancellors of the Punjab University,
University of Sargodha and Islamia University Bahawalpur.
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PITB online admissions
Lahore: Education Secretary Cheema told the council members that
the chief minister signed an agreement with the Microsoft Corporation
regarding electronic citizen services that would be implemented by the
Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB). Mr Cheema directed
the vice-chancellors to coordinate with the PITB chairman for
implementation of software of Online Admission to Universities. He
asked the VCs of all Punjab universities to coordinate and finalise
online admission schedule to facilitate the candidates.
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Punjab Community colleges
Lahore: The higher education secretary formed a four-member
sub-committee to work on the idea of community colleges in the
province. The committee to be convened by Fatima Jinnah Women
University Rawalpindi Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Saeeda Asadullah was
tasked with working on the idea and bringing the matter to the next
meeting to be taken up by the council. Committee's three members are
vice-chancellors of the University of Sargodha, University of Gujrat
and University of Education, Lahore. Dawn
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