Rawalpindi SSC admission forms schedule

RBISE announced SSC annual exams forms schedule
Rawalpindi, Nov 14: Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education on Friday announced the schedule for receiving the admission forms for annual Secondary School Certificate (matriculation) examination and asked the candidates to deposit examination fee.

The examinations are scheduled to begin on March 13, 2010 but the private candidates can deposit single fee up to December 12, 2009 while regular candidates can deposit single fee up to January 9, 2010.

Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Secretary Professor Humayyun Iqbal said Part I (Class IX) and Part II (Class X) admissions forms can also be sent by paying double fee till January 23, by both private and regular candidates.

The last date for receiving applications from regular and private candidates with triple fee is February 13, 2010. All those students who are appearing for the first time also need to deposit Rs400 as registration fee, Professor Humayyun said in consideration of the prevailing law and order, all the candidates are required to send their forms by registered mail at least three days before the last date.

Each envelope should contain only one form. The admission forms would not be accepted in person in any case, he added. The news

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Govt schools, colleges without adequate security measures
Islamabad: Despite the deteriorating law and order situation in the country, the government instead of releasing funds for security arrangements at government schools and colleges, merely issued hollow instructions to the administration of the schools and colleges thus further raising fears and anxiety among the parents.

Low boundary walls, absence of security guards and non-provision of any arms and metal detectors by the government to schools, is a worrisome situation for the parents and teachers as well. A visit to different schools working under the Federal Directorate of (FDE) on Friday revealed that the government had provided no funds nor equipment to ensure security at the schools, which have been taking all the 'necessary' security measures on their own using students' funds.

Some such measures are that most of the schools have banned holding of assembly and refreshment breaks to avoid mass gathering of students and every visitor's identity card is checked at the gate. Those, who can afford security camera system that cost Rs60,000-Rs80,000, have installed them but others have only relied on unarmed 'chokidar'.

Moreover, no public sector school has hired security guard and 'chokidar' deputed at the gate does not have weapons to deal with any security situation that may arise. Boundary walls of the schools are also in dilapidated condition, which cannot be raised causing fears among the parents regarding security of their children.

On the other hand, private schools have taken sufficient security measures including raising walls, installing security camera systems and hiring armed security guards. A teacher of FG Girls Higher Secondary School G-6/1-4 said that the government had provided them nothing but instructions to improve security measures.

"We have installed security camera at the cost of Rs60,000 from students' funds which is collected monthly". 'Chwokidar' of FG Comprehensive Higher Secondary School F-6/1, however, said although the school had purchased two metal detectors yet "We have not been provided any guns to ward of any incident of terrorism."

A father of a student complained that all the government schools had plenty of funds but they spent it on other luxuries and the most important thing in such circumstances was the security of the children but that was being ignored. Boundary walls of the most of the schools are low which should be raised at least 8 feet high according to the instructions of the city administration. The nation

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Investigation over twin suicide attacks on IIUI
Islamabad: Investigators are quizzing two Afghan nationals studying in the Islamic International University Islamabad (IIUI) for their possible links with the twin suicide bombings that hit the university on October 20, leaving seven students and one employee dead, a senior official of the institution informed.

"Yes, two of our Afghan students are currently with the law enforcement agencies who are interrogating them in connection with the suicide bombings in the university," said the official, who requested not to be named due to security reasons. When asked, he said, intelligence agencies had informed the university administration in this regard.

A couple of days ago Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the National Assembly that the government had arrested the mastermind behind the suicide attacks at the World Food Programme (WFP) offices and the Islamic International University. The minister did not disclose his identity. Spying agencies are also working on a second lead; whether a former Afghan professor at IIU's Sharia and Law department has something to do with the tragic incident in which five female and two male students lost their lives.

The former professor was removed from his job few months ago after he developed serious differences with Dr Ziaul Haq, who is currently heading the Sharia and Law department. The possibility that the two suicide bombers stayed in the boys' hostel of the university before striking the campus is also being looked into, both by the university administration and the intelligence officials.

Suicide attack on the IIU campus was first of its kind in which bombers hit an educational institution. The attack led to a countrywide closure of educational institutions in the followings weeks. Still there are some private educational institutions in the country which are yet to resume their classes.

Terrorist strikes, mostly carried out the suicide attackers, have significantly increased after the government launched the military operation in South Waziristan in mid-October. Dawn

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Students urged to understand 'terrorism' to save Pakistan
Islamabad: Students at a seminar on 'Understanding Terrorism' condemned terrorist attacks on the International Islamic University (IIU) and emphasised on the need for actively engaging students in understanding the phenomenon of terrorism to enable them to play their role in steering Pakistan out of the current crisis.

The seminar was organised by students of the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) and National Institute of Pakistan Studies (NIPS), in collaboration with the National Students Federation.

Irum Jhatial, a student of NIPS, said the way the term 'terrorism' is used in international forums often conceals the state's own use of terror. She lamented that the state still does not decide on who is a 'terrorist' and is continuing to protect and nurture certain Islamic militant groups while declaring other such groups as 'terrorists'. "Terrorism cannot be defined neutrally in a non-neutral world and people should be encouraged to develop their own understanding and then take a position," she said.

Alia Amirali, a student of Anthropology, said even in this time of crisis, the major political parties have not been able to strike a consensus. She observed that only PPP is ready to own the current crisis as 'Pakistan's War', whereas all other parties are either hesitant to do so or reject it altogether as 'America's War'. She criticised the role being played by the religious parties in particular, saying that these parties are whipping up anti-Americanism in order to shy away from their hand in promoting Islamic militancy. She desired a counter-ideology emerging from political quarters, which could steer Pakistan out of its current existential crisis.

Kapil Dev, a student of International Relations Department, highlighted the politicised nature of media, particularly the opinion-making power of the anchorpersons, and urged them to present all sides of the picture. He talked about the difficulties in obtaining facts with regards to terrorism, especially from the war-torn areas where military operations are underway. A single-source news item cannot be considered credible, regardless of whoever the source is, he added. He also highlighted the importance of media in strengthening democracy and urged it not to become involved in any anti-democratic agenda.

Tracing the history of the emergence of terrorism in Pakistan, Zahid Imroze, a student of Physics Department, began from the time of the Cold War when the Pakistan-US alliance created the 'mujahideen' to topple the Soviets in Afghanistan, and said that now these very groups are called 'terrorists'. He referred to the role of Pakistan's religious parties in providing ideological and other forms of training to Afghan mujahideen through madrassas, which continue to exist in even greater number today. Zahid highlighted the heavy price that both Afghan and Pakistani people are paying as a result of the Cold War in the form of a large number of refugees, and the escalation of terrorism due to increasing poverty, hunger and frustration.

In the open discussion, the students vowed to continue the process of educating themselves about the root causes of Pakistan's problems, and expressed their determination to play their role in bringing about the necessary positive changes in the country and society.

In the end, Dr Azam Chaudhry, organiser of the NIPS weekly seminar series, expressed his appreciation for the students' effort to tackle these issues in an academic manner and encouraged them to continue to engage constructively in the issues of their society.

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Free ration to all police trainees
Islamabad: All trainee officers of Punjab Police are getting free ration after Chief Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif had allowed the facility to them, said spokesman of Police Training College (PTC) Sihala.

The under training officers from other provinces including Gilgit Baltistan, AJK and Islamabad appeared before Commandant Nasir Khan Durrani and requested for the same facility.

The matter was brought into the notice of Punjab chief minister who accepted the request and ordered free ration to trainees from Balochistan, Gilgit, Baltistan, AJK and Islamabad. IGP Punjab Tariq Saleem Dogar has ordered the Commandant Police College Sihala to ensure the facility of free ration to all trainees.

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