Filth depot in front of government girls high school

School area being turned into 'filth depot'
Lahore, Oct 11: People from different walks of life have expressed their concern over the establishment of a filth depot adjacent to the main gate of Government Pilot Girls High School Wahdat Colony.

Residents told that they were shocked at the news that the filth depot was being established in front of their houses. "It is pity that instead of searching a suitable place, the authorities have proposed a site for the depot close to the school where thousands of students and pedestrians daily pass through," they said, adding the authorities started work on the project without informing them. "Stench from garbage will make their life a hell."

Parents said that there was a great rush on the road at the time of opening and closing of the school. "We have to park vehicles and bikes near the gate to drop and carry their children. After the setting up of the filth depot, it will be impossible to stand near it due to stench," they maintained. Students said that their classrooms were not away from the main gate and the filth depot would badly affect the educational process.

The headmistress said that she did not know about the establishment of the filth depot adjacent to the school gate. "No one listens to me. I have written to the high-ups time and again regarding cleanliness after the Sunday Bazaar but no one pays attention to her," she said, adding that the filth depot would make it difficult for them to impart education to students.

When contacted, Task Force on Government Colonies Chairman Dr Tufail Siddiqui said that the then additional secretary (Welfare) had selected the site after his visit six months ago. "No one can change the site for the filth depot," he said in a harsh tone. "If any one has a problem he should contact Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and Chief Secretary Javed Mahmood," he added.

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CM for all facilities to special children
Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the whole nation is proud of special children who despite their disability achieved success, and special children have proved through their performance and ability that they are no less than anyone and Allah Almighty has bestowed them with great intelligence.

He expressed these views while addressing the prize and certificate distribution ceremony of special male and female students obtaining prominent positions in matric examinations at Chief Minister's Secretariat, here on Saturday. Provincial Minister for Special Education Malik Iqbal Chunnar, Parliamentary Secretary for Special Education, Nadia Raheel, Vice Chairman Punjab Welfare Trust Dr. Amjad Saqib, Administrative Secretaries, columnists, intellectuals, representatives of welfare organizations as well as special children, teachers and parents were present in large numbers.

He said no stone would be left unturned for the training and education of special children and government has increased annual budget of special education form Rs.21 lakh to one billion rupees.

He said that quota specified for special persons in government departments would strictly be implemented. He gave away prizes of Rs.4 lakh, 3 lakh and 2 lakh to special children acquiring first, second and third positions in the examinations while one lakh rupees each was given to other students acquiring first division.

The Chief Minister said that cash prizes and certificates awarding ceremony has been arranged for special children first time in the history of the country and this is an unforgettable day of his life when he is giving away prizes to physically handicapped students as well as those having visual and hearing disability, showing outstanding performance in the matric examination in Punjab. He said that nobody can be neglected in the present era due to any physical disability and everybody is fully talented to play active role for the uplift of the country. He said it is scientifically proved that Allah Almighty blesses physically handicapped children with great intelligence that is why the ratio of success of special students was 85% in the examinations of secondary school while that of normal children remained 50 to 55%. He said that proper encouragement of children acquiring prominent success in education has always been his priority so that not only talented and industrious students could be encouraged but movement of better performance should also be created among other students. He said that Punjab government is making solid measures for the better education and training of special persons as well as making them useful citizens of the society. He said that presently 172 schools are working at district and tehsil levels in this regard, besides two degree colleges, three teachers' training institutions and a modern Braille Printing Press are also functional.

He said that 18000 students are being imparted training in these institutions where they have been provided free of cost educational facilities. He appealed the parents not to hide or neglect their children rather send them in the institutions made for their education and training so that instead of becoming burden, they should play an active role in the society. He said that mass communication institutions could play an important role in this regard and if they start awareness campaign for forwarding this welfare work, it can yield positive results very soon. He said that neglecting special persons is a crime. He said that Punjab government will ensure provision of justice and employment to special children and all the departments will make measures for the rehabilitation of special persons at their level. The nation

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117th convocation of PU held
Lahore: Governor Salmaan Taseer on Saturday stressed the need to promote nationalism among the people like that expressed by students for the rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Swat.

The governor was addressing the 117th convocation of the Punjab University (PU) at the university's Faisal Auditorium. He awarded medals and degrees to distinction winning students of the various PU faculties.

Efforts lauded: Addressing the gathering of students, teachers and parents, Taseer, who is also the PU chancellor, said the teachers and students of PU had done an excellent job when the country was facing the IDP problem during the Swat operation. He said the teachers donated their salaries, and students also collected funds.

The governor said the students' and teachers' gesture had promoted nationalism among the people of Swat. He said Pakistani doctors were the second-largest community in the US after American doctors, and hundreds of Pakistanis were serving in NASA.

Taseer congratulated the distinguished students, and said, "You have a great future. You have to compete with the rest of the world and earn a good name for your country. You must realise this world of knowledge."

PU Vice Chancellor (VC) Dr Mujahid Kamran, Pro-VC Dr Jamil Anwar, Registrar Dr Naeem Khan and Examinations Controller Dr Zahid Karim were also present.

Over 1,000 students participated in the convocation. 275 students were awarded gold medals for securing top positions in the MA/MSc sessions of 2002-2004, 2003-2005 and 2004-2006 and BSc (Honours) sessions 2002-2006 and 2003-2007.

Addressing the convocation, Kamran said convocations had been a rare event in the PU on account of politics. He said this was the second convocation in one year, which showed that the university was functioning normally.

Activities restored: He said the activities that characterised a university had been restored by and large. Hr said with the convocation, a huge backlog pertaining to the BA/BSc (Honours) programme was cleared. He said this was the first ever convocation in which BA/BSc (Honours) degrees had been awarded since the inception of the programme in 2001.

Kamran said the PU had awarded 101 PhD degrees in the first nine months of 2009, against the 112 awarded in the whole of 2008 and 77 in 2007.

The VC said the university was focusing on promoting research activities, linkages with foreign universities, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, appointment of teachers and merit-based promotion of employees. The news

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LHC seeked parawise comments
Sialkot: The Lahore High Court (LHC) halted the implementation of the recently made recruitments of educators in the Sialkot district and sought para-wise comments from the district and provincial governments on next hearing on Oct 27.

The LHC has passed the order on a joint writ petition filed by some 'rejected' candidates, including Tahir Mehmood of Buddha Goraya village, Daska; Sameena Yasmeen of Bambaanwala village, Daska; Tahira Tanveer of Sodagarpura village and Yasmeen Bibi of Behrampur village.

The counsel for petitioners, Gohar Nawaz Sindhu, told the court that the clerical staff had conducted their interviews for the post of educators instead of a special recruitment committee nominated by the Punjab government.

The counsel alleged that the clerical staff awarded special marks to their favorites.

Meanwhile, Sialkot senior civil judge Tahir Aslam also summoned EDO (Education) Muhammad Ali Sahu and Sialkot DMO Muhammad Ejaz Bhutta with complete record on Oct 17 in a contempt of court petition filed by some other rejected candidates.

The EDO (Education) and the Sialkot DMO had recruited SSE teachers in defiance of the court order. Dawn

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