HSC exam forms | Karachi students' grace marks

HSC (humanities and medical technology groups) form for annual examinations-2009
Karachi, May 23: The last date for submission of forms for the Higher Secondary School Certificate (humanities and medical technology groups) annual examinations-2009 for regular and private candidates, including special candidates, has been fixed as May 23. The exams will begin on June 18.

According to the controller of examinations, Board of Intermediate Education Karachi, Prof Agha Akber Mirza, a detailed schedule for the examinations will be announced on June 3.

He stated that the HSC papers which were originally scheduled for April 30 and May 12 but had to be postponed owing to disturbances in the city would now be held on May 27 and 28, respectively.

Karachi University LLB, LLM & MA exams
Karachi: The University of Karachi has announced that a last chance to appear in the LLB and LLM examinations-2009 is being given this year to the willing candidates, agencies add.

A KU statement issued on Friday said that the relief was being given since the relevant notification was issued after commencement of the examinations.

In a separate statement, the university said that the MA examinations 2008 earlier scheduled for May 25 would now begin on June 15. Dawn

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By the 'grace' of God and the governor
Karachi: Please forward this message to all: "We, the students of first and second year, humbly request governor Sindh Ishratul Ebad that the situation of load shedding has become worse in Karachi and it is very difficult to study in such hot circumstances so please announce grace marks so that there would be some relief for the students. Thanks a lot."

For the first time I was actually tempted to forward this SMS to everyone. Not because I was afraid of "bad luck" but because I wanted to share with my friends and acquaintances what the students of today have come down to. How the concept of grace marks is being taken for granted and more importantly, how the governor obliges each time.

In a recent statement by the Sindh governor, he suggested that two per cent grace marks should be awarded to students who appeared in SSC Part I and II (Class IX and X) annual exams 2009 as 'unprecedented load shedding on a daily basis resulted in great academic loss'. While we appreciate the fact that the governor acknowledges the severity of the problem, the one question that comes to mind is if load shedding results in 'academic loss', do grace marks lead to academic gain? And what message is the government giving to the students? That they shouldn't study hard as ultimately the government will compensate them?

Anyone who has lived in Karachi [for even less than a decade] knows about the severity of the problem. We have all taken our exams in these "hot circumstances" then why should the government even pay attention to such a plea by students, who are always on the look out for a 'short-cut' to success? Why is it that whether it's load shedding or a strike call by a political party to condemn the acts of violence that took place in the city two years ago, it is the education sector that has to compromise? Why does the government support such insanity?

By now, most citizens have learnt to make peace with the problems of our country and also know how to move on with their lives, then why in the case of exams do students expect "extra favours" from the government, I have yet to understand.

The SMS also made me realise how students are willing to unite for "grace" marks at the drop of a hat, but unwilling to study hard round the year (instead of waiting till the eleventh hour) so it is less burdensome when preparing for their annual examinations. Also, if they can unite for this cause, why can't they do the same when it comes to questioning the government about the old pattern of examinations that encourages rote learning or for that matter, even protest against the outdated syllabus? But then again, why would they need to when, by the grace of God, we have a governor like Ebad to support their cause.

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DCET: edging towards the brink!
Karachi: Once a premier institution of engineering and architectural education for students from across the country Dawood College of Engineering & Technology (DCET) has suffered the after effects of succeeding regimes that eventually led to its institutional decline.

A sound foundation
Founded as a private sector institution in 1962, the DCET extended some of the finest infrastructure and human resource for the production of qualified engineers and also architects after the merger of Government School of Architecture in 1972. Under the

Nationalisation Policy of the Bhutto government, it was taken over by the regime and named as National College of Engineering and Technology.

For academic management, it was affiliated with the University of Karachi till 1977 when the affiliation was shifted to the NED Government Engineering College once it was up graded as a University.

The federal government renamed the college as DCET in 1980 in recognition of the services of Dawood Foundation. Administrative and academic affairs remained smooth as long as the college functioned under proper institutional arrangements. At the time a board of governors headed by the federal education minister was responsible for key policy making.

Daily management was supervised by an executive committee; financial and developmental affairs by the finance and planning committee while the selection of suitable faculty members and officers by a selection committee.

The decline
In 1990, a drastic change was introduced, when an all powerful principal, inducted with the help of the then federal government, froze all the institutional arms. By promoting nascent nepotism, malpractice and corruption, the principal was able to avert all forms of accountability.

Hundreds of illegal admissions were granted to ineligible candidates. Malpractices rose to such a level that the NED University disaffiliated the college in 1998. For more than two years, the college was rudderless without any affiliation. On the intervention of the government, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology granted affiliation in 1999-2000.

Academic standards declined considerably. No new faculty worth the name could be inducted during this period. Blatant influence of political groups marred the normal academic work. Upon the initiative of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the then the President, the college was awarded a degree awarding status in 2006.

However legal experts are of the opinion that the ordinance must be ratified by the parliament as it was not included in the controversial provincial constitutional order. While the administration was busy bringing the academic process back to desired levels, the expedient elements removed the principal which led to mass scale unrest amongst the students.

After alleged mishandling by unruly elements, the acting principal also left in the third week of April, 2009. No senior faculty member is willing to take up the task while the protests are ongoing.

For the future of DCET
A national asset in respect to engineering and architectural education, DCET is among few federal institutions of higher learning that draw student body from all across the country. It is probably the only option available for deprived students of FATA, PATA, Balochistan and rural areas of Pakistan to access professional education at an affordable fee structure. They obtain the rare opportunity of studying in Karachi and benefiting from the vast opportunities that this metropolis has to offer.

Few steps must be taken without any further delay. The parliament must be requested to approve the ordinance after fulfilling necessary law making pre-requisites. Relevant parliamentary standing committee may be asked to send a fact finding mission to appraise the overall administrative, academic and financial situation.

The mid ranking administrative cadres must be seriously examined to root out corrupt and politically motivated elements. This has been a lingering ailment of the college for two decades. Finally, an academic with strong administrative credentials must be appointed as the principal with sufficient powers to run the administration. It must be remembered that institutions take decades to evolve but disintegrate in a wink, if due attention is denied to their affairs!- The writer is a Karachi based retired banker (The News)

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10th DA women college convocation held
Karachi: The 10th Convocation of Defence Authority Degree College for Women was held in the institution's auditorium on Friday with University of Karachi Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui presiding over the ceremony.

As many as 613 graduates of the session 2005, 2006 and 2007 were awarded BA, BSc and BCom degrees whereas 45 masters degrees were also conferred on the students.

Dr Qasim in his convocation address said that the nation has lagged behind in education dismally. He lamented that education has never been given its due priority in the past and the culture for learning and research could not be developed. He attributed this dismal state to the lack of political will and allocation of inadequate funds for education. He said that the real wealth of a society was the quality of manpower it produced and added that in the world of knowledge-based competition, quality and relevance of education were the key elements in national development. The VC advised the students to develop a strong sense of dedication and patriotism and stressed that educating the young generation is the only solution to cope with the present problems. Dr Qasim further said that it is the responsibility of the educators to bring a visible change in society. Education, he said, is the only hope for the nation's betterment and salvation. He pointed towards the malice inherent in our contemporary education system, which lacked the necessary vitality. He observed that an educated person, apart from professional brilliance, should also have a versatile personality with an understanding of the humanities and liberal arts. He stressed on the empowerment of a large number of uneducated and neglected womenfolk in the country by providing them quality education. He also congratulated the DHA College for Women for maintaining its glorious tradition of getting top positions in university and board exams. He also appreciated the excellent student teacher ratio of 1:20 being maintained by the college.

Earlier, Principal Prof Nasreen Nasir, in her annual report, highlighted the academic and co-curricular achievements of the college. She said that the college imparted education to young women to nurture and develop their intellectual and physical talents in an intellectually stimulating environment. As many as 45 students of the college were awarded degrees in MA (Economic), 296 students were awarded BCom degrees, 87 students received BSc degrees and 230 students were given BA degrees in Humanities. App

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CDGK summer camps to charge high fees
Karachi: The CDGK will organise summer camps for school children from June 2. However, it has been decided to charge high registration fees from the children; which will be a financial burden on the parents, it was learnt on Friday.

As per details, the summer camp will include various sports, competitions, fun package, learn and play package, and many others. It is worthy to mention here that the event is being organised after a couple of years.

The event would be organised on various sports complexes and grounds of the City government, including Kashmir Road sports complex, women sports complex and other grounds.

The sources said that during the summer camp, they would organise coaching camps for swimming, skating, gymnastic, football, hockey, marshal arts, lawn tennis, table tennis, volleyball and basket ball. Moreover, competitions will also be organised to test the performances of the children participating in different coaching camps.

It has also been learnt that services of renowned coaches and players of various sports disciplines have been hired to provide appropriate coaching and training to the participants. The coaches would be the players of international level in their disciplines. When former mayors Abdul Sattar Afghani, Dr Farooq Sattar, were the mayors and later Faheem-uz-Zaman Khan and Dr Saghir Ansari and few others were the administrators of the defunct KMC, the summer camps were organised regularly.

A high official in the CDD, when contacted said that this is not an old tradition when coaches and players agreed to provide free coaching to the youngsters.

This is the time of commercialism and everyone wanted to be paid for his expertise. That's why registration fee is being charged, instead of the view that City government wishes to earn something from such activities.

He further mentioned that coaches and international players were not ready to provide free coaching and training to the children. They did not even agree to visit the camps for a single day. Thus, to pay charges to them for their services during the summer camps, registration fee has been imposed.

Meanwhile, the DO sports of CDD, Iqbal Nawaz, when contacted, said that preparation for organising the summer camps is in full swing, which is commencing from June 2. The timing of the camps would be from 9:30am to 3:00pm, while lunch would also be provided to the children, he said.

He said that complete schedule about that camps would be announced in a day or two to inform the interested parents.

Nawaz emphasised that instead of quantity of the children, the quality is being focused regarding organising the camps. He mentioned that admission in CDGK summer camps would be given to children aging from 5 to 13 years. The Nation

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Sindh Univresity announces results of M.Com
Hyderabad: University of Sindh (SU) has announced the result of M.Com final Post-Graduate (College Side) annual examination 2007. According to the announcement, 459 candidates submitted their examination forms while 450 appeared and nine were absent. Total of 289 candidates passed the examination. The News

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Stamps issued on Parsi high school's 150 years
Karachi: On the eve of completion of hundred and fifty years of Bai Virbaiji Soparivala Parsi High School, Karachi, the Pakistan Post has issued the commemorative stamps of Rs. 5 each. The stamps will be available in the markets from today (23rd May 2009). The designer of the stamp is Faizi Ameer Siddiqui and its format is rectangular in shape.

Not only the Parsi community of Karachi but the entire city is indebted to Seth Shapurji Hormusji Soparivala and his family for laying foundation of the respected and prestigious school in 1859. It was a small Parsi Balakshala housed in the residence of one Dadabhoy Palonji Paymaster.

As the school going community increased, it outgrew the building. In the year 1869 Shapurji was deprived of his beloved wife Bai Virbaiji. In May 1870 Shapurji who had been so far the greatest benefactor of the school, donated a sum of Rs. 10,000 on the condition that it should be named after his late wife. The opening ceremony was performed in September 1870 by the then Commissioner of Sindh, Sir William Mereweather; and Jamshedji Framji Master was nominated as the Headmaster of the institution. During the formative years, Gujrati was entirely a co-educational institution.

In October 1904, the eldest son of the Founder, Seth Khurshedji Soparivala laid the foundation stone of the present school building on Victoria Road. In 1909, the school observed its Golden Jubliee.

In 1919, the Cowasjee and Virbaiji Variawa family set up a trust fund to feed and cloth the poor Parsi students and to date the 'Bhojan Fund' does just that.

The period from 1920-1946 was momentous. The school was raised to the status of High School, saw the extension of building. It boosted the motto 'Towards that Best Light'.

In 1947, at the request of M.A. Jinnah to the community and the Principal Behram Rustomji, the school opened its doors for the very first time to non-Parsis.

Hence as of today, BVS Parsi High School thus holds the distinction of being one of the oldest and prestigious institutions for young boys in the city of Karachi. The Nation

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