Rawalpindi college teachers shortage
Shortage of teachers, interns to be appointed in colleges
Rawalpindi, Nov 18: Education department has decided to meet the shortage of
teachers in the colleges by appointing college teaching interns (CIT) on
contract basis to keep the studies going, it has been learnt. As many as
923 posts for lecturers, assistant professors and professors are lying vacant in
the colleges of Rawalpindi division and it has been difficult for the principals
to manage the classes smoothly. According to an official of the director
colleges office, the government has allowed the college principals to hire the
CITs for different subjects against Rs10,000 monthly salary. When
contacted, Director Colleges Dr Muhammad Ashraf said that the government
had been planning to induct regular lecturers to minimise the shortage of
teaching staff and that for the time being the CITs would be hired to make up
for the deficiency. He said mainly the teachers for Urdu, English and
sciences subjects were in shortage, creating difficulty for the college
administrations to conduct the classes. The CITs will be hired on six-month
contract starting from December 1 to May 30. Each principal has been
asked to form a recruitment committee having subject specialists as its members
to hire new teachers. There will be no age limit for the candidates and their
contract could be extended on demand basis. The reason behind the
shortage of the college teachers is said to be no recruitment of lecturers
through Punjab Public Service Commission and also no promotion of serving
lecturers and assistant professors to the higher ranks for the last two years.
It may be mentioned here that in 2008 the provincial government had
hired honorary teaching assistants (HTAs) in the colleges but the project did
not work as the HTAs were paid salaries after six months and their contracts
were not renewed. Dawn
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Security tightened for NWFP private schools
Peshawar: Private educational institutions have tightened their security once
again after the hand grenade attack in Janat Ladies Park, Phase-6 Hayatabad on
Monday afternoon. The schools in Hayatabad have restricting any outsiders
including parents from entering the school's premises during school hours. It is
reported that unknown miscreants have hurled two hand grenades in ladies part
situated in Phase-6 Hayatabad but luckily no body hurt in the incident. The
incident resulted stepping up security measures in the area especially
educational institutions were asked to increase its security. According to
Education Department officials, the NWFP government had directed all public and
private schools and colleges to fix students' entry and exit timings and keep
the entrance and exit gates locked at all other times. The source of private
schools association has said the government had also directed principals / heads
to remain vigilant and not to allow vehicles near school and college buildings.
He said a security plan had been devised for private educational institutions,
under which students would have to display their identification cards to enter
and all gates would remain locked during study hours. Many parents were said
that they and their children are still in fear and are reluctant to send their
children to schools. They asked the schools administration to complete all the
security arrangements for the safety of the kids. Meanwhile, the principals and
administrators of schools and colleges were asked to be more vigilant in the
wake of increasing incidents of terrorism and militancy. The provincial
government however said that though law enforcement agencies had been put on
high alert in the district but it was impossible to depute policeman in every
school and college of the province. It is reported that some private schools and
colleges have already restricted the entry of cars without special entry passes
and national identity cards or carrying more then three students, from entering
their premises. Parents have been advised to display their national identity
cards whenever they come to pick or drop their children. Many schools have also
advised parents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious persons or
activities they might see outside the school premises. The administration of a
prominent private school situated in the Cantonment has issued a letter to the
parents, which reads: "Whoever comes to pick up your child must show his or her
ID Card and the children must be picked up as soon as school timings are over.
Children using school transport may continue to do so, if some of you are
advised and are therefore inclined to make your own pick and drop arrangement
you are most welcome to do so." A private school's administration official said
that, "the administration is highly concerned with the security of its students
and is taking all possible measures in this regard." A father of a student at a
local school was of the view that "although the law and order situation of the
City is so bad, they cannot afford not to send their children to school. It
would mean putting their future at stake. " He added that even though it was hard
for many of the parents to pick and drop their children during working hours,
they were nonetheless satisfied with the security arrangements made by the
schools. According to the sources in Education Department, the government has
planned to take stern action for security lapses in the private schools. Many
schools have reported installed CCTV cameras at the gates and buildings of
private schools for security reasons and hired private security guards. F.P Report
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Universal Children's Day
Islamabad: In order to highlight the state of children in Pakistan and
discuss various measures to be taken to ensure child rights, Ministry of Social
Welfare & Special Education will organise an event today (Wednesday) to mark
the Universal Children's Day. The event would be organised in
collaboration with United Nations (UN) and other child rights organisations
where special initiatives taken by the Pakistani government for the protection
of child rights would be discussed thoroughly. In the absence of a
children's ministry in the country, child rights and other related issues are
discussed and sorted out under the umbrella of Ministry of Social Welfare &
Special Education that celebrates the Universal Children's Day every
year. The UN General Assembly recommended through Resolution 836 (IX) on
December 14, 1954 that all countries institute a Universal Children's Day to be
observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding among children, and
also as a day of activity devoted to promoting the ideals and objectives of the
Charter and welfare of the children of the world. The Assembly suggested
governments to observe the Day on the date and in a way that each considers
appropriate. November 20 marks the Day on which the General Assembly
adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the Convention on
the Rights of the Child in 1989. Spokesperson Ministry of Social Welfare & Special Education Maliha Zargham said that
Pakistan has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and
Millennium Development Goals (MDG) that range from halving extreme poverty to
halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by
the year 2015. Though the Goals are for all humankind, they are primarily about
children. Unicef notes that six out of eight Goals relate directly to children
and meeting the last two will also make critical improvements in their lives.
"The issues of internally displaced children and earthquake effectees
will be discussed in detail and a strategy will be formulated to ensure proper
health and education facilities to them," she said adding that the Child
Protection Bill would also be discussed. She said the problems faced by not only
normal but also special children and their solutions would be discussed. "The
event will be followed by tableaus and national songs which will be participated
by normal as well as special children," she said. Federal Minister for
Social Welfare & Special Education Samina Khalid Ghurki would be the chief
guest at the event while representatives of various national and international
organisations working for child rights would also be in attendance.
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Free education to the orphans
Islamabad: Pakistan Baitul Maal (PBM) has established an Orphanage Centre
at Gilgit to provide free quality education to the orphans. The orphans would be provided education till metric level and
for higher education they would be sent to other educational institutions and in
this regard all expenses would be borne by the PBM. Answering a question
whether the PBM has set-up a school in the Centre, he said the Centre
at Gilgit was prepared within a short period and at the initial level, quality
school near the centre was selected where the children would be sent for
education. The PBM has planned to initiate classes in Sweet Home Gilgit
soon so that the children could be provided education within its
premises.
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Student unions restoration
Peshawar: Like other parts of the world, the World Students Day was observed
here on Tuesday with calls on the prime minister to honour his announcement
about restoring students unions in all the educational institutions across the
country. Central president of Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT),
Atiqur Rahman, said his organisation staged a big rally in Lahore to mark the
day and press the government to give students their basic rights. He said that
the formation of a union was the basic right of the students according to
international laws but he deplored that the students in Pakistan had been
deprived of this basic right.
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Girls school blew up
Bara: Militants blew up another girls' school in the volatile Bara tehsil of
Khyber Agency on Tuesday. Tribal sources said the suspected militants had
planted explosives in the compound of Government Girls Middle School, Ghazi Gul
Killay, in Malikdinkhel area of Bara tehsil that went off with a huge blast
early Tuesday. The blast destroyed four rooms of the school and created cracks
in the whole structure, turning the building useless. No group or individual has
claimed responsibility for the act. The news
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