Karachi university B.Com supplementary result 2008

KU announced B.Com supple results 2008
Karachi, Nov 20: University of Karachi (KU) has announced the results of B.Com Supplementary Examinations - 2008. A total of 2309 students had been registered, all of them appeared and 725 passed the examinations. The pass percentage was 31.39

Meanwhile KU awarded 23 M.Phil, 22 PhD, one MS and one MD degrees to students from various departments.

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First Pakistani professor hired by Harvard
Boston: Pakistani professor, Asim Khwaja, has become one of the first Pakistanis to achieve tenure at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Tenure guarantees academic freedom as well as job security. Tenure is offered to the best and brightest of the professors who show the most promise in increasing the university's reputation through their research, books and unique ideas.

Tenure protects teachers and researchers when they dissent from prevailing opinion, openly disagree with authorities of any sort, or spend time on unfashionable topics. Khwaja's areas of interest include economic development, education, political economy, and contract theory/mechanism design.

His research combines extensive fieldwork, rigorous empirical analysis, and microeconomic theory to answer questions that are motivated by and engage with policy. It has been published in the leading economics journals, such as the American Economic Review, and the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and has received coverage in numerous media outlets such as the Economist, NY Times, Washington Post, BBC, and CNN.

His recent work ranges from understanding market failures in emerging financial markets to examining the private education market in low-income countries. He was selected as a Carnegie Scholar in 2009, for his compelling ideas and commitment to enriching the quality of the public dialogue on Islam. Khwaja was cited for his research on how the pilgrimage to Mecca affects individual pilgrims' economic, social, ethical, and cultural outlooks.

"I hope that my research on the impact of the Haj pilgrimage on the pilgrim will inform the wider academic debate on the nature and interaction of religious and non-religious beliefs in Islam," said Asim.

He received high school degree in Pakistan and then received his BS in economics and in mathematics with computer science from MIT and a PhD in economics from Harvard. Asim's parents, Ijaz and Zahida Khwaja, were proud of their son. "What can we say? Today he is every Pakistani parent's son," said Dr Khwaja. Harvard's tenure process is known to be very confidential and strict.

Individuals do not apply for tenure but are recommended and then go through a series of vetting processes which include soliciting recommendation letters regarding the candidate from top faculty. The process culminates in a final ad hoc meeting where the president has veto power.

Harvard's tenure rates are fairly low, and, therefore, it is not common for an assistant professor to ever get tenure from Harvard. He started his academic career from Harvard and was an assistant professor before he got promoted as an associate professor and finally full professor.

He also has offers of tenure from Dartmouth, Vanderbilt and Berkeley. When asked how he was feeling he responded, "I hope this will open more doors for future Pakistanis to pursue academia and reach our potential."

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BIEK appreciated SMIC students
Karachi: The scientific models displayed during an exhibition by the students of Sindh Madressatul Islam College (SMIC) are a proof of the students' interest in science. The younger generation must be encouraged excel in the field of science as well.

These views were expressed by Anwar Ahmed Zai, Chairman Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Karachi (BIEK) at the inauguration ceremony of a science exhibition at the SMIC held on Thursday. He said that the SMIC is an historic institution where Quaid-e-Azam Mohamamd Ali Jinnah also studied. Therefore, the students of this great institution have a great responsibility to the nation in their future. He added that SMIC students have enormous talent and modern approach towards science.

Meanwhile acting principal of SMIC, Afroz Abbasi, said that the college has remained a torch bearer in this region throughout its 124-year history and has set great traditions in the field of education. She added that such traditions need to be upheld with a new vigor and spirit.

Appreciating the models made by the students of SMIC on space technology, coal energy, wind power and other subjects she said that SMIC is trying to create interest and awareness among the young generation towards science. She also praised the role of Munir Alam, lecturer of Physics, who had put in all his efforts to make the exhibition successful.

Shabbir Ahmed Qureshi, vice principal and Rajab Ali Mallah, in charge of co-curricular activities also spoke on the occasion. Anwar Ahmed Zai and Afroz Abbasi gave away shields to Mohammad Ishaque, Mohammad Saeed and Mujahid Nawaz, the students of SMIC, on securing first, second and third position for making impressive models.

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Lack of awareness in Pakistan
Karachi: As proclaimed by the United Nations' General Assembly on 14 December, 1954, the idea behind the inception of The Universal Children's Day was to encourage all nations to promote and work for the welfare of their children. Many countries respected the recommendation and since then this day is being celebrated annually.

Pakistan has been celebrating this day since 1990 as it is one of the signatories of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This year, most of representatives belonging to the legal as well as the medical field laid a lot of stress on two notable issues: the 'protection of the child' and 'quality of life'. Security and health, they said, are the most significant issues that have required attention for a very long time.

Barrister Shahida Jamil, points out that law and order has a very important role to play in this regard. She said as most of the minors are used as a vehicle for bomb blasts and other life threatening activities. "They must be protected from mafia, drugs, prostitution and human trafficking and other social evils," she stresses. She also laments the lack of check and balance from the authorities in particular and society in general. Barrister Jamil also says that the "need of the hour is to sensitise, train and strengthen the judiciary to take swift action when due, rather than dilly-dallying, so that these children are protected from being used and abused."

Speaking on the same lines, Prof. Aisha Mehnaz from Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) says that despite the fact that Pakistan is a signatory to child rights convention, which it has ratified since 1990, progress is slow when it comes to its implementation.

Dr Aisha also adds that the loophole lies in the fact that there is no awareness in this regard. She laments that the stakeholders who are a part of the Child Rights Convention do not know much about the law itself and as a result many minors are awaiting justice.

However, Professor M.A Arif, Head of Department of Pediatrics and General Secretary of Pakistan Pediatrics Association (PPA), says that the survival of a newborn and quality of life are interlinked and it is also an issue to be dealt with as the newborn mortality rate is disturbing to say the least.

"In Pakistan, every 7th child dies in a week due to various infections and diseases," he points out. The diseases include diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition. He says that malnutrition mostly occurs from eating unhealthy food and the only way to control these diseases is the provision of healthy food as well as immunisation. "Most of the organisations in Pakistan are working to make the situation better but I'm afraid a lot of work needs to be done, with of course civil society's help."

Professor Arif says that doctors are trying to decrease the infant mortality rate by taking measures such as focusing on the mother because if a mother is well-nourished the child will be too.

With regards to spreading awareness among the masses about child rights, protection and health, Pakistan Pediatric Association is organising an event titled 'Achieving Child Survival to meet Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4'. Meanwhile, Aga Khan University Hospital will be hosting a seminar to debate and discuss the health issues among women and children for instance maternal health and eating habits among children.

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Speakers debate health of Urdu language
Karachi: Urdu is not in the process of becoming a dialect and hence the concern about the sad demise of Urdu is far-fetched. However, the Urdu Diaspora has to devise ways and means to keep the language on the tracks. Media, especially the electronic and print should be more responsible in using the right words and the right pronunciation while using in their publication and transmission.

The concern about the gradual decline of Urdu as a spoken and written language was voiced on the third day of the five-day long, 2nd International Urdu Conference that is being held in the Arts Council. The theme of the first session of the day was "Urdu Language and Literature and Mass Communication".

Former Chairman and Professor at the Department of Mass Communication Federal Urdu University of Science & Technology (FUUAST) Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan spoke on the role of Urdu Journalism from 'Paisa Akhbar' to the present day newspapers. While lauding the role of Urdu newspapers in spreading Urdu to the four corners of the subcontinent and beyond, he lamented the present situation where substandard and often unsuitable words were used in the media resulting in the mutilation of the language. It has resulted in children and less-educated people picking up on those words. He singled out FM radio for using language 'that could be near Urdu, but definitely not Urdu'.

Columnist Musarrat Jabeen negated the idea that Urdu was a dying language and reminded the audience that Urdu has no geographical or religious boundaries and this is the reason why Urdu newspapers in undivided India were mostly owned by the Hindus and Sikhs. The printing house of Munshi Nawal Kishore in Lucknow was a household in Muslim homes as well because most of the books were printed there. She urged the government to accord the right status to Urdu and then see how this sweet language progresses leaps and bounds. "I am not against the use of English but I understand that a nation must use its own language. We have the example of Japan, China, Turkey, Egypt, Germany and many others that use their own language and are doing well in the league of the nations."

Sabeeh Mohsin, who had a prolonged career with Radio Pakistan, sounded the warning about the perceived decline of the language. He informed the audience that government schools in 50s and 60s were the best ones but now they are the pariahs of educational system that are only for the poor. "The English medium schools have increased the social divide. The poor value of Urdu has induced the Pakistani writers to write in English. These books are well received by society. Urdu books are not accorded the same welcome. It is a matter of concern".

Columnist Masood Ashaar agreed that Urdu was not being given the place it should have been in the country. Poet and columnist Kishwar Naheed lamented that journalists of the caliber of Chiragh Hasan Hasrat, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Maulana Zafar Ali Khan are not present today and Urdu journalism is not serving Urdu. Columnist and former Newspaper Editor Ghazi Salahuddin thought that Pakistani society had become dumb because it had no language of its own. He expressed his dismay for the decline in the habit of book reading and suggested a universal education - education for all in the country to enable the people to understand and love their language.

Obaidullah Baig, Agha Nasir and Farhad Zaidi narrated their experiences of their journalistic careers and suggested careful evaluation in accepting or rejecting words from other languages. The news

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