Punjab colleges teaching staff shortage

Shortage of teaching staff at public sector colleges
Lahore, Nov 11: In order to overcome the shortage of teaching staff at public sector colleges of the province, the Punjab Higher Education Department has decided to recruit College Teaching Interns (CTIs) as a stopgap arrangement.

It is learnt the department will soon advertise over 2,000 posts of CTIs who will work against vacant posts including those of lecturers and assistant professors in different colleges across the province. The basic qualification required for CTIs is set as MA/MSc while both male and female teachers would be hired.

A meeting chaired by Secretary Higher Education Ahad Khan Cheema and attended by Directors Colleges from all Divisions of Punjab, was held here on Tuesday to finalise the arrangement.

An official of the department said the experience gained through teaching as CTIs would also be taken into account in case any of the candidates wanted to be appointment as lecturer through the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC). He said college principals would be authorized to make all these temporary appointments in consultation with respective divisional directors colleges.

It is pertinent to mention that, last year, the Higher Education Department had appointed around 2,000 Honrary Teaching Assistants (HTAs) against a monthly salary of Rs 8,000. The HTAs had to face great trouble as most of them were paid after three or four months.

To a question, an official of the department said the term HTAs was replaced with CTIs to make it clear that the candidates belonged to college side as, earlier, there was misunderstanding that HTAs were also involved in school education. He added the CTIs service period would continue till the appointment of regular incumbent.

The official said, keeping in view the agitation by HTAs in the past, all the fresh interns would be clearly informed that they were not entitled to be confirmed in any case.

"The department had to face extreme pressure last year when dozens of HTAs protested and demanded regularization of their services", he added.

When asked how man seats were vacant in colleges across the province, DPI Colleges Abdul Razzaq Cheema said there were around 2,500 posts vacant in colleges of the province, adding the recruitment process of regular incumbent was going on through the PPSC.

Secretary Higher Education Ahad Khan Cheema, when contacted, said the posts of CTIs would be advertised soon, adding this year Rs 10,000 monthly salary would be paid to each intern unlike last year when they were offered Rs 8000 per month.

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KEMU teachers shortage dealt a severe blow
Lahore: The King Edward Medical University (KEMU) is short of four professors, six associate professors and eight assistant professors in various departments that dealt a severe blow to the training of young doctors and medical students as well as treatment of the patients.

According to details, the gravity of situation reflects in departments of biochemistry, radiology, nephrology and pharmacology, functioning without professors for the last several months - the seat of professor of pharmacology fell vacant when Prof Dr Shabbir Bhatti, who was also former Controller of Examinations of KEMU, left the KEMU recently and joined a private medical college.

Six seats of associate professors of various departments, including two seats in Department of Pharmacology, one seat each in departments of Community Medicine, Anatomy, Nephrology and Biochemistry were lying vacant.

Furthermore, eight seats of assistant professors of various departments, including three seats in Department of Forensic Medicine, two seats each in departments of Anatomy and Community Medicine while one seat was lying vacant in the Department of Biochemistry.

The Young Doctors Association (YDA) lambasted the KEMU administration for prolonged delay in filling posts of senior medical teachers in key departments, which was causing loss to academic activities of medical students and practical training of young doctors besides badly affecting the standard of diagnostic and treatment services to the patients in the attached Mayo Hospital. "The KEMU must immediately fill vacant posts of professors, associate professors and assistant professors in various departments to impart quality education and training to the students and doctors as well as to provide treatment to the patients in the hospital," said Dr Salman Kazmi, YDA general secretary. The news

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Grenade found in Govt boys college
Lahore: The police recovered a hand grenade and detonator inside the Government Boys College, Gulberg near the National Hockey Stadium on Tuesday morning.

However, the grenade found in a black shopping bag in the ground situated in the rear of the college, remained inactive as its fuse (pin) was spotted detached.

Model Town Division SP Rana Ayyaz Saleem said that Rescue 15 police received an emergency call around 11am by Prof Nauman, the vice principal of the college, about a suspected shopping bag lying along the outer boundary wall (inside the college premises).

He said the police alerted the Bomb Disposal Squad and reached the spot and found explosive in the bag. The SP said apparently some (unidentified) people had thrown the shopping bag into the college premises from the wall, having boundary with FIFA ground where more than 100 labourers were busy in work.

He said the Russia-made grenade was a fresh piece and could be used for sabotage act. Mr Saleem said the police cordoned off the area and launched manhunt in boys' hostels and nearby areas besides interrogating the labourers, students and others.

A college employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claimed no one could see how and when the shopping bag was thrown on the college premises. The explosive, however, triggered panic among the students, academic staff and employees, he added.

Meanwhile, the police registered a case against miscreant(s) under explosives act on the complaint of Prof Nauman and launched investigation into the incident.

A police investigator said that preliminary inquiries had failed to give any vital information about the people involved in the incident. "Throwing a hand grenade into the college from a boundary wall could be a message for law enforcers that raising of walls could not stop them from carrying out their activities," he said.

Meanwhile, a bomb hoax at a private school near Qurban Lines panicked the students and staff.

The Reacecourse police said the school principal, Rizwan Javed informed Rescue 15 police that he received a call on his cell phone from an unidentified caller (0345-4611987) that three bombs had been planted in the school.

The police evacuated the school and searched the entire building in association with the Bomb Disposal Squad officials and gave a clearance after an hour. The police launched efforts to trace the suspect through the cell number. Dawn

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Importance of technical education
Lahore: Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Shehbaz Sharif said that promoting technical education is vital four our bright future.

Addressing a high level meeting on promotion of technical education in Lahore Tuesday CM said only contemporary education can help the country progress.

By promoting objective education technical manpower will be produced as per the demand, he added.

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Books for Punjab university
Lahore: A delegation of Minhaj ul Quran, led by Prof Dr Masood Ahmad Mujahid, visited Punjab University library and presented to the librarian two sets of their two different publications, each set comprising 225 books. According to another press statement, the PU Philosophy department will organize a special lecture on Thursday titled "Sir Syed, Akbar Allah Abadi and Allama Iqbal". PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran will preside over the lecture while Prof Dr Zakria will deliver special lecture. The lecture will start at 11 am at Al-Razi Hall, Undergraduate Block, New Campus.

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Girls college in Gowalmandi
Lahore: MNA Hamza Shahbaz Sharif said a new girls' degree college was being established in Gowalmandi area at a cost of over Rs 230 million. Addressing foundation stone laying ceremony of the Government Girls Degree College Gowalmandi on Tuesday, he said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had promised about the college with the people but it was delayed till now due to nine years of dictatorship.

Education & Excise Minister Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman, Khawaja Salman Rafique, Ch Shahbaz, Khawaja Imran Nazir and Allah Rakha Chaudhry were also present on the occasion.He said this college would be completed within one year under his supervision and would be spread over nine kanal and nine marlas. The news

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UoE students allege discrimination
Okara: Over three dozen students of the University of Education (UoE), Okara campus, staged a sit-in outside the press club here on Tuesday in protest against, what they said, discrimination in paper marking and failing them in the examination of MA English Part-II.

They chanted slogans against the university administration, accusing it of targeting 136 candidates of MA English Part-II of the three sub-campuses of Okara, Joharabad and Lahore. They said the university had targeted them because of their protest in the part-II exam in July 2008.

Candidates' representative Ghulam Mustafa Shad said the 136 candidates of all three sub-campuses had protested in July 2008 during the part-II paper No six against delivering a wrong paper. Since then, the university has failed them in the paper twice.

Protesters demanded Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and Federal Education Minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani take notice of the situation. Dawn

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Features of languages discussed
Lahore: The Government College University (GCU) Lahore Arabic and Islamic Studies Department organised a two-day special workshop at the university's Postgraduate Library to discuss the features common to the Arabic and other languages, and Islamic Studies and modern sciences.

A larger number of scholars from different universities and colleges besides a large number of students took part in the workshop.

Speaking on the occasion, University of Management and Technology (UMT) Research Scholar Ahmed Nadeem laid stress on learning English language and termed it mandatory for preaching the teachings of Islam and countering propaganda by Non-Muslims against it.

Hafiz Iftikhar Ahmed Khan of the GCU Faisalabad discussed in detail the relation of Arabic with other modern languages. He said Arabic being one of the oldest languages had a great impact on the modern languages.

Government Islamia College Civil Lines Lahore Head of History Department Professor Muhammad Iqbal, discussing the historical books of Persian and Arabic languages including "Kashful Ma'ajoob" by Hazrat Ali Hijwary, highlighted the features common to the books of both the languages.

GCU Lahore Head of Persian Department Muhammad Iqbal Saqib briefed the participants about the researches going on in Pakistan and Iran in relation to the features common to the Arabic and other languages, and Islamic Studies and modern sciences. Professor Hafiz Muhammad Azmat dug out the common features of Islamic Studies and Economics. He said Islam had given a complete economic structure for an Islamic state. He said all modern economic concepts were entirely or partially seemed to be inspired by the Islam including the tax system.

GCU Lahore Dean Faculty of Languages, Islamic and Oriental Learning Khalid Perviaz said the workshop would open new horizons of research. Asra Ajmal of GCU Psychology Department and UMT Department of Islamic Studies Dr Amjad Waheed also spoke. The news

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