Sindh university semester examinations boycott
Teachers boycotted Sindh University semester exams
Hyderabad, Dec 13: Teachers boycotted semester examinations and held a march at
the University of Sindh on Saturday in protest against an incident a day ago in
which a girl student's relative allegedly insulted a lecturer when he refused to
let allow her to use unfair means in the exams. The teachers held an
urgent general body meeting and marched from Art faculty building to the
vice-chancellor's office to record their protest with the VC Mazharul Haq
Siddiqui. They gave an ultimatum to the university administration to
improve law and order situation on the campus within three days to end a growing
sense of insecurity among teachers and demanded immediate arrest of the man who
was not a university student. The secretary of the teachers' association
Prof Badar Soomro said that lawlessness had become order of the day on the
campus and firing at hostels during night had become a matter of routine. No one
was safe, he said. He said that motorcycles, mobile phones, cars and
wallets were being snatched from teachers and students every day but the law
enforcement agencies on whom the university was spending millions of rupees were
doing nothing whatsoever to improve the law and order situation. He
appealed to the president and prime minister and governor who was also
chancellor of the university to pay special attention to the university and help
rectify the situation. VC Mazharul Haq Siddiqui condemned the incident
assured and assured teachers in a meeting that legal action would be taken
against the culprit. He was not blind to teachers' sentiments and a case had
already been registered against the culprit the same night, he said. He,
however, did not approve of boycott of examination and said the teachers must
sow patience and not close their doors on the students because it would harm the
university's image as well students' future. Prof Dr Anwar Ali Shah,
dean of Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration, and Mr Intizar Ali
Lashari, member of syndicate, appreciated the action taken by the university
soon after the incident. But Mr Badar Soomro demanded that the
university administration must make concerted efforts to protect life and honour
of teaching community. An FIR has been registered at Jamshoro police
station against the culprit identified as Naik Brohi who had misbehaved with and
insulted Naseer Abbas Abbasi, a lecturer in the Political Science Department.
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Private school system
Dadu: Senior Sindh Minister Pir Mazharul Haq, who holds the portfolio of education,
has said four regional directorates were being established in the province to
bring the private school system under administrative net. He said one
such directorate has already been established in Dadu and others are to be set
up in Sukkur, Mirpurkhas and Larkana regions. He said this while
addressing the 5th annual convocation of the Institute of Modern Sciences and
Arts (IMSA), Dadu, held at the Sindh University, Old Campus, here on
Saturday. The purpose of this decision, he said, was to address public
complaints about the private schools and make them affordable for the common
man. Highlighting the importance of educational institutions in the
private sector, the senior minister said the education standard of the private
institutions was much better as compared to the government institutions despite
the fact that the government was paying more to its teaching
faculties. He said the government was also encouraging NGOs, engaged in
education, especially in rural areas, to provide standard education facilities
to children. Due to the negligence and half-heartedness of the previous
government, more than 7,000 schools were closed out of which more than 3,000
have been re-opened while the remaining would be made functional within the
shortest possible time, he added. Talking to journalists earlier, Pir
Mazhar said negotiations with coalition partners on the local government system
were in progress and a consensus had been reached on many points. However, he
denied having any knowledge about extension in the local government
system. He said educational institutions were being run with a commercial
rather than a missionary spirit. However, he said the government was trying to
reverse the situation in the interest of the common people. Pir Mazharul Haq suspended the services of two
lecturers of a local college here on Saturday. The provincial minister
paid a surprise visit to the Government Degree College Sujawal and suspended two
absentee lecturers - Farrukh and Mohammad Aslam. He also ordered to cancel the
deputation of seven lecturers, asking them to report to their original place of
postings. Dawn
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Rs.10 million grant for Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Urdu Complex
Karachi: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Saturday announced a grant of Rs 10
million for the construction of a complex of Anjuman Tarraqi-e-Urdu
Pakistan. Speaking at the launching of book "Farozan Chehray" by MNA Khushbakht Shujaat at
the Governor House here, he said that the Anjuman had played a pivotal role in
the publication of 650 high quality literary books in the last 107 years and
all the organisations including the government must support its
efforts. He said Urdu was a national language and Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had made
it a part of his manifesto. Its progress will guarantee our social, cultural,
political, economic development, the PM noted. Yousuf Raa Gilani said this
language is spoken and understood in the entire country and is a strong pillar
of national integrity. Referring to the book, he
said that it included the interviews of renowned literary personalities
. Earlier, prominent poets, critics and authors including Dr.Pirzada Qasim and Mahmood
Shaam also spoke on the occasion and praised the work of the
author. APP
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Graduation degrees for 328 students
Karachi: Over 300 students of various disciplines received their
graduation degrees at the Aga Khan University's 22nd convocation ceremony held
on Saturday. Dr Maleeha Lodhi, former Pakistani ambassador to the US and
the UK, was the chief guest at the convocation. The ceremony marked the
graduation of 328 students from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the US in the fields of medicine, nursing
and education. This year, 116 and 172 students graduated from the AKU
medical college and the School of Nursing, respectively. Three medical
students received PhD degrees in health sciences. The university's Institute for
Educational Development conferred degrees on 42 students, with two PhDs in
education. Dr Taimur Saleem was awarded the Best Graduate Award from the
Medical College as well a gold medal for achieving the highest marks in all four
professional examinations; he is the eighth recipient of the gold medal in AKU's
history. Afroz Sadiq Sajwani received the Best Graduate Award from the
School of Nursing. Congratulating the successful students, Dr Maleeha
Lodhi said that they must strive for a meaningful success that entailed giving
back to society, serving the public and contributing to solutions desperately
needed to resolve the problems the nation faced today. "More than ever
our country needs citizens and leaders who make public service the hallmark of
all that they do and commit themselves resolutely to addressing the terrible
burdens of poverty, disease and deprivation. We must help in whatever way we can
those who are less fortunate among us," she remarked. Referring to the
work of Aga Khan Development Network, she said it had established a model for
empowering the underprivileged by becoming an agent of change and by creating
conditions for sustainable community mobilisation and development. The
AKU, she said, had enabled Pakistan to soar to academic heights and set the
highest standards of professional excellence, which were internationally
acknowledged. In this context, she made special reference to AKU's
nursing programme and said that the institution not only pioneered in
establishing the first professional school of nursing in the country, but it
also elevated this noble profession by making it attractive for
women. The university also presented three other awards. The Award
of Excellence in Education went to Dr Rukhsana Zuberi for her "outstanding
contribution to education", the Award of Distinction to Dr Syed Husain Mohammad
Jafri, while Dr Jamsheer Talati received the professor emeritus
award. Ambassador Saidullah Khan Dehlavi, chairman, board of trustees,
AKU, Firoz Rasul, president, AKU, Munnawar Hamid, member, board of trustees, AKU
also attended the ceremony.
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DCET admission case
Karachi: The Sindh High Court on Saturday put the federal education
secretary, the principal of the Dawood College of Engineering and Technology
(DCET) and the chairman of the college's admission committee on notice in a
petition filed by an admission seeker. Petitioner Mohammed Waqas Jamal
through Advocate Noman Ali Bhutta approached the court after he was denied
admission to the college on a seat reserved for the holders of a diploma of
associate engineering (DAE) from Punjab. A division bench comprising
Justices Mushir Alam and Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi put off the hearing to a date to be
fixed later by the court's office. The petitioner submitted in the court
that he passed the DAE in electrical technology with 'A' grade in 2009 from the
Asia Institute of Technology, Multan, and applied for the DCET reserved seat in
response to the admission notice for the session 2009-2010 advertised on Sept
13, 2009 by the college. He stated that he sought admission in the Bachelor of
Engineering (BE) in electronics as he was eligible for the reserved seat.
The petitioner further stated that he was allotted Roll No 875 for his
pre-admission test which was held on Nov 15 in Karachi and secured the highest
marks - 63.22 per cent - and got "tier-1" in the results published on the
Internet on Nov 21. However, the petitioner stated, he did not receive
any call letter for an interview from the college. He travelled to Karachi on
Dec 9 and met the DCET principal and the chairman of the college admission
committee but they refused to entertain his application for admission.The
petitioner quoted the respondents as maintaining that he was not eligible for
admission as he had a diploma in electrical and not electronics discipline.
He said that the admission committee chairman showed him a list
containing the name of another candidate, Majid Hussain, who was selected for
admission even though he had attained a much lower rank and "tier-2".
The petitioner's counsel submitted in the court that Majid Hussain
secured 62.48 per cent in tier -2 and selected for the sole reason that his DAE
certificate was in electronics discipline while petitioner's certificate was in
electrical discipline. The counsel stated that the criterion was
arbitrary and a grossly inequitable policy which was not justifiable on the
basis of the fundamental right to equality enshrined in Article 25 of the
Constitution. He contended that firstly the respondents' stated reason
indicated that they would prefer a tier-5 candidate with DAE in the discipline
of electronics over a tier 1 candidate with DAE in electrical discipline.
The counsel argued that it was nowhere stated in the college prospectus
and if the petitioner and other candidates with a DAE electrical certificate
knew this, they might have decided not to appear in the exam.Secondly, he
contended, the exam held, notwithstanding the type of DAE held by the
candidates, was identical, so to prefer a candidate with low marks over the one
who secured the highest marks defeated the purpose of competitive exams which
was to identify the brightest and most capable candidates. He stated
that preference of one candidate over another in a competitive exam must be
based on merit and not the background. The petitioner's counsel
submitted that the respondents would hold the interviews of the selected
candidates on Dec 14 from their self-made list that did not contain the name of
his client. He prayed to the court to direct the college principal and
the chairman of the admission committee to give admission to the petitioner in
BE (electronics). He also prayed to the court to direct the federal
education secretary to initiate a proper inquiry against the respondents for the
"discrimination and self-quoted rules". The court observed that Majid
Hussain should also be added as a party and directed the petitioner's counsel to
file an amended title of the petition. The petitioners' counsel
submitted that interviews were scheduled to be held on Dec 14 and in case the
sole candidate was examined, he was more likely to succeed depriving the
petitioner of his entitlement in violation of treatment in accordance with the
law. However, the bench observed that the proposed interview might be
held but it would be subject to the orders of the court. Dawn
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Sindhi literature promotion
Karachi: University of Karachi (KU) Vice Chancellor Prof.
Pirzada Qasim emphasised the role of media in the development of Sindhi
Literature and reminded them that national solidarity comes from listening to
all the ethnic groups in the country. Prof. Qasim expressed these views
in his presidential address at the conference on "The Role of Media in the
Development of Sindhi Literature", organised by Federal Urdu University of Arts,
Science & Technology (FUUAST) at its Gulshan-e-Iqbal Campus on Saturday. He
talked about the bond that exists between the media and literature and said that
both of them serve the society in their own way. Sindh Information
Minister Shazia Marri, who was chief guest on the occasion, pointed out that
cultural tradition of Sindh dated back 5,000 years, and culture and literature
could not be separated. FUUAST Acting VC Dr Hasan Waqar Gul said that
nations are proud of their cultural and literary traditions and Pakistani nation
was not an exception. Sindhi is an old language and most of its words
are now part of Urdu Language and literature and both the languages are
essential to each other. He announced that FUUAST would compile an Urdu-Sindhi
dictionary with cooperation from Academy of Letters. He added that the
university would also hold International Sindhi Conference next year. The news
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College Professors regularisation
Sukkur: More than half the faculty members of the already understaffed
Ghulam Mohammad Mahar Medical College have got themselves transferred to other
medical institutions of the province because of unnecessary delay in
regularisation of their services. The associate professors and assistant
professors of the college have been demanding regularisation of service since
the establishment of the institution but the government has not so far taken any
action in this regard. Surgeon Dr. Muneer Memon said that if services of
the rest of 50 per cent teachers who still held onto the college were not
regularised then they, too, would take flight, which might lead to closure of
the college. According to some sources, Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer
Ahmed has signed a summary for regularisation of services of associate
professors and assistant professors of the college, and forwarded it to the
chief minister for approval. The college was established six years ago
to facilitate students of Sukkur, Khairpur and Ghotki districts and it started
functioning on Oct 15, 2003. The civil hospitals of Sukkur and Khairpur
have been declared as teaching hospitals for the medical college. The
Sukkur Civil Hospital has been upgraded from 150-bed to 300-bed and number of
doctors has been increased to 12 surgeons and eight physicians, including
professors, associate professors and assistant professors, who teach at the
college as well as perform duty at the hospitals. Dawn
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