Schools winter vacation notification response
Schools give cold shoulder to winter vacation whistle
Lahore, Dec 22: Private as well as semi-government schools and colleges flouted
on Monday a Punjab government's notification regarding winter vacation which had
stated on Dec 19 that all educational institutions would remain closed for
holidays from Dec 21 to 31. After the dissemination of news from the
mass media, a large number of parents did not send their children to schools on
Monday. However, they learnt afterwards that almost all private schools were
open. "The government's failure in implementing its orders has resulted
in study loss of so many students, who did not go to schools," a parent said.
Surprisingly, the branches of Divisional Public School (DPS) in Model
Town and Township remained open despite the fact the school operates under the
chairmanship of the Lahore division commissioner and the district coordination
officer. Punjab Education Secretary Aslam Kamboh said the government had
abruptly notified winter vacation due to thick fog, Christmas and Ashura.
He said private schools had a valid reason of opening schools on Monday,
as they were off on Saturday, when the vacation notification was issued. About
intimation of the notification on Monday, he said, private schools were holding
their internal examinations and would close in a couple a days. "The
Education Department does not compel the schools to observe winter vacation
strictly as in case of summer vacation," he added. Executive District
Officer-Education Dr Arshad said the government had notified the vacation on
Saturday afternoon and could not communicate the decision to private schools. He
said the information had now been communicated to all schools, including the
DPS, as well and they would be closed from Tuesday (today). DPS
Principal Shakoor Butt said the school would be closed for winter vacation from
Dec 25 as already scheduled. He said the government had notified winter vacation
abruptly and the school was holding its examinations. He said the school was
also finalising its candidates' admission for class-IX examinations.
Also, public schools and colleges suspended their ongoing examinations,
which would be held next year. Most of the other private schools,
including the chain schools, are also sticking to their plans of holding
examinations and closing schools for the winter break. A private school
official said the Punjab government had created embarrassment for itself by
abruptly announcing winter holidays. He said the decision should have been taken
in a working day and communicated properly. He also said there was no such thing
that the government suddenly came to know about fog, Christmas or Ashura. Dawn
We want school
Lahore: The decision of the Punjab Education Department to close down schools
for winter vacations before schedule has been criticised by teacher unions,
parents and students alike. The government's decision is likely to
aggravate the plight of the students whose schools and universities closed down
last month too due to the security threats, especially after the terrorist
attack at the Islamic University in Islamabad. Parents and students complained
that examinations were drawing nearer and their syllabi were still
incomplete. Punjab Teachers' Union (PTU) chief
organiser Allah Rakha Gujjar termed it 'utter mismanagement' on the part of the
education department "to close down schools like this when they know it will
only add to the troubles of the students whose education has already suffered
much due to the prevailing security threats." However, Punjab Education
Department (Secretary Schools) Aslam Kamboh said the decision to announce
earlier holidays was taken due to falling temperatures, fog and
Muharram. The Punjab Education Department announced on Saturday that all
public and private schools in the province were to be closed for winter
vacations from December 21 to 31. On December 15 a division bench of the
Lahore High Court, headed by Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, had
dismissed a petition seeking the closure of educational institutions in Punjab
in view of the security threats. The handout issued by the Punjab
government does not mention any reasons for announcing winter vacations before
schedule. The decision has been opposed and criticised by parents, students and
teachers across the province. Private schools, on the other hand, remained open
and would only close down for winter holidays starting from December
24. Allah Rakha Gujjar said it is 'ridiculous' that schools have been
closed down earlier as "the government knows very well that students of primary,
middle and matriculation are all due to appear for their exams in the coming
months." He said the teachers were not expecting any holidays as the
schools had been closed last month as well. He said they were looking forward to
completing their syllabi. Mrs Khalid, mother of an 8th
grader said she was troubled by this unexpected announcement. On one hand,
private schools were taking extra classes while the government was least
bothered about the education of its children. She added that the government
needed to revise its decision and look into its consequences for the
students. Director Public Instruction (DPI) Colleges Punjab Abdul Razzaq
Cheema said he was unaware of the reasons behind early winter vacations, and he
was just following the orders of the government. Executive
District Officer (Education) Dr Arshad said he was planning to take action
against all those private schools that remained open on Monday despite the
announcement of the government. An official of the Education Department said
that the EDO had sent a letter to all private schools to immediately
announce winter vacations. Dr Arshad said the security situation of the
province was very fragile and the government's decision was in view of this
vulnerability. He confirmed that they were determined to take action against the
private schools refusing to close down. An administrator of a private
school said that their school would remain open till December 24 as
the students were having their annual tests and examinations. A Punjab
School Education Department official said it was not only the private schools
but also the public schools which remained open on Monday due to mismanagement. Daily times
Your Comments
"I am teacher of qazi grammar School qanchi amr sidhu lahore i want to complain edo to take serious action against this school because this school is open in these days only for teachers. Thy order us to atnd school inspite of giving vacations. It is our right to take vacation like everyone. If we apeal this to our owner he take strict action agaist us even he can take our resignation forcfully. Plz take an action becoz we also want safty from terrorist"
Name: Salma
Email: Aliza_sweet24@yahoo.com
City, Country: Lahore, Pakistan
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UoP Syndicate approved promotion of 16 lecturers
Peshawar: The Syndicate of the University of Peshawar (UoP) on Monday approved
promotion of 16 lecturers to the post of assistant professors in BPS-19 with
retrospective effect from 2007. Some professors of the university,
however, termed the decision a violation of a recent verdict of the Peshawar
High Court. The University of Peshawar had advertised 24 posts of assistant
professors in 2006 under the new criteria that had not been approved by the
university Senate at the time. Some university lecturers had moved the court
against the move on the plea that the criteria had not been approved and the
advertisement was unlawful. In the meanwhile, a Syndicate meeting held in
2007 approved the appointment of 24 assistant professors. As the said meeting of
the Syndicate lacked quorum, the next meeting of the Syndicate in 2008 cancelled
all decisions taken at the previous meeting. The court had also stayed the
appointment of the assistant professors against the posts. On December
15, 2009, a division bench of the Peshawar High Court comprising Justice Dost
Mohammad Khan and Justice Abdul Aziz Kundi decided the case in favour of the
petitioners, Falak Naaz, Arshad Ali and Maimona. The court decision
stated: "The petitions are allowed and both the petitions be considered under
the un-amended statutes for appointment in BPS-19 as assistant professors.
Keeping in view the consistent principles laid down by courts in services cases,
if such decision is taken then the petitioners would be entitled to all the
benefits of the posts from the date they were not considered for
appointment." The Syndicate on the other hand approved the appointment of
the assistant professors, whose appointment had already been cancelled by the
same body and the petitioners were given no benefit of the court decision. "The
court decided in our favour and the Syndicate gave its decision against the
court verdict. This is a contempt of court," one of the petitioners
said. He said the university had also violated the decision of the 399th
meeting of the Syndicate.A jirga constituted by the university administration
two years ago had also come up with the decision to end the deadlock on the
issue by recommending that the petitioners be given promotion with the other
lecturers. The petitioners said this decision too was not honoured. When
contacted, University of Peshawar Registrar Shireenzada Khattak said the court
decision had been honoured. He said the court had decided in favour of three
lecturers of the university and the Syndicate decided to create posts for them
and advertise them at the earliest. When asked about the approval to the
appointment of the 16 assistant professors, he said the minutes of the meeting
had not been written and confirmed yet and thus he could not comment on
it. The said meeting of the Syndicate, already termed controversial, had
approved appointment of 24 assistant professors in BPS-19. Later, four of them
joined Islamia College University and another four were promoted as associate
professors. The promotion of the remaining 16 as assistant professors was
approved in Monday's meeting of the Syndicate, sources said. The news
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LUMS SDSB acting dean
Lahore: Dr Arif Nazir Butt, associate professor of management in the Suleman
Dawood School of Business (SDSB), Lahore University of Management Sciences
(LUMS), has been appointed the acting dean of the SDSB with effect from December
18. According to a press release issued by the university on Monday,
Arif takes over from Dr Shaukat Ali Brah, who served as the SDSB dean for
two-and-a-half years. Arif teaches Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource
Management in the graduate and PhD programmes at LUMS. A Dean Search Committee
led by Mr. Abdul Razak Dawood, Rector LUMS, would be constituted in the next few
days to search for a permanent replacement. The acting dean will oversee the
school's academic and administrative operations until the completion of a
successful search for his replacement. Daily times
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CM contests prize distribution
Lahore: The prize distribution ceremonies of district level Punjab Chief
Minister's Speech and Essay Writing Competitions will be held at all the
district headquarters of the province on December 23. According to a
DGPR handout issued on Monday, Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has
nominated the members of district monitoring committees as chief guests for the
prize distribution ceremonies. Abdul Razaq Dhillon will be the chief
guest of prize distribution ceremony in district Sargodha and in Khusab, Karam
Elahi Bandial, MPA, Bhakar, Saeed Akbar Khan Niwani, MPA, Mianwali, Ali Haidar
Noor Khan Niazi, MPA, Faisalabad, Abid Sher Ali, MNA, TT Singh, Junaid Anwar,
MNA, Jhang, Iftikhar Ahmed Khan Baloch, MPA, Chiniot, Al-Haaj Muhammad Ilyaas
Chinioti, MPA, Gujranwala, Imran Khalid Butt, MPA, Hafizabad, Mst Saira Afzal
Tarar, MNA, Mandi Bahudin, Waseem Afzal Chan, MPA, Gujrat, Nasir Mehmood, MPA,
Sialkot, Imran Ashraf, MPA, Narowal, Awais Qasim Khan, MPA, Sheikhupura, Haji
Ghulam Nabi MPA, Nankana Sahib, Rana Muhammad Arshad, MPA, Okara, Yawar Zamaan,
MPA, Multan, Rana Mehmood Ul Hassan, MNA, Khanewal, Karam Dad Wahla, MPA,
Lodhran, Syed Rafi ud Din Bukhari, MPA, Vehari, Waseem Akhtar Khan Bhahba, MPA,
Sahiwal, Pirzada Syed Imran Ahmed Shah, MNA, Pakpattan, Ch Javed Ahmed, MPA,
Layyah, Syed Muhammad Saqlain Bukhari, MNA, DG Khan, Sardar Saif ud Din Khosa,
MNA, Muzaffargarh, Syed Haroon Ahmed Sultan Bukhari, MPA, Rajanpur, Sardar Sher
Ali Khan Gorchani, MPA, Bahawalpur, Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman, MNA,
Bahawalnagar, Asif Manzoor Mohal, MPA, Rahim Yar Khan, Muhammad Arshad Khan
Leghari, MNA, Rawalpindi, Ch Muhammad Ayaz, MPA, Attock, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed,
MNA, Jhelum, Muhammad Faiz, MPA, Chakwal, Tanvir Aslam Malik, MPA, Kasur, Haji
Naeem Safdar Ansari, MPA and in Lahore Hafiz Muhammad Noman, MPA. Meanwhile as many as
four orators of the Government College University (GCU)
Lahore Debating Society made their way to the finals of the Chief Minister
Speech Contest 2009-10 by bagging top positions in various categories. GCU
Debating Society Assistant Secretary Muhammad Usman Ali stood first at the
Division Level English Debates for the intermediate students. Muhammad
Zulqurnain Cheema topped the Division Level English Debates for undergraduate
students. Almas Saqib bagged first position at the Division Level Urdu Debates
for undergraduate students. However, Saad-ul-Hassan stood third at the
Postgraduate Level Urdu Debates. All these debaters have qualified for the final
round of the the Chief Minister's debates which will be held in January 2010.
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School for Sikh children
Lahore: A high level meeting was held at the Governors House on Monday to
establish "Guru Mukhi School" for Sikh children in Lahore. According to
a handout issued here, the meeting decided that Guru Mukhi School for Sikh
children would be established in Model Town Housing Society. The land would be
awarded by the Society and the construction work done by the Evacuee Trust
Property Board (ETPB). Governor Salman Taseer also directed ETPB
chairman to renovate Sikh Gurdwara at Model Town Society at the earliest.
Addressing the participants of the meeting, the governor said Islam is a
complete code of conduct and it gives priority to the humanity. "Islam
preaches respect for all the minorities", he said, adding "The government is
doing its level best to provide best possible facilities to the minorities." He
said the minorities in Pakistan were patriotic and had freedom to live according
to their faith. Sikh Parbandhak Committee president Sardar Bishin Singh
thanked the governor, the Lahore district nazim, the ETPB chairman and the Model
Town Society president. He said the government was making all-out effort to
protect the rights of the minorities, providing them maximum facilities.
The meeting was attended by District Nazim Mian Amer Mehmood, ETPB
Chairman Asif Hashmi, Sikh Parbandhak Committee President Sardar Bishin Singh
along with Sardar Ameer Singh, Sardar Jaswinder Singh and Sardar Atar Singh. The news
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Education in UK
Peshawar: A seminar highlighting opportunities and possible problems in
acquiring higher education in the United Kingdom was held on Monday at CONFED
Professional Advisers on Overseas Education and Career Building for the HND
students of Edwardes College, Peshawar. Many present and former students have
shared their experiences with the audience. The seminar titled "Education in UK:
Opportunities and Threats" was attended by a large number of HND students of
Edwardes College who were eager to know the benefits of foreign education and
the issues that may confront them there. Many seemed interested in acquiring
information about future prospects. The seminar that was arranged by CONFED
started with an introductory video that also included the picture of students
currently undergoing studies in different disciplines in the UK. The Managing
Director CONFED, Najiullah Khattak gave a presentation. F.P Report
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